Portimonense lost 3-1, visiting Sporting de Braga, in a game of the 24th round of the I League of football, played this Friday, March 6. The Algarve is still in deep crisis and can complicate the maintenance bills.
Pressured by the need for points, Portimonense knew it would not have an easy task. On the other side was Sporting de Braga, the 3rd ranked that, despite having lost their coach Rúben Amorim to Sporting, is always a fearsome team.
This theoretical superiority began to materialize early on. Right at minute 2, Ricardo Horta, served by Paulinho inside the area, hit the post.
The pressure from Braga was maintained, but it hit the irons again. At 8′, it was Paulinho who hit the bar, with a great volley shot.
From here, Portimonense knew how to balance, but without creating real opportunities for danger. As a matter of fact: the Algarvians did not have a chance worthy of the name, during the entire first period.
The first goal even arrived – and for Braga. Jadson lost the ball in the forbidden zone, Paulinho ran to the goal, passed it to Trincão and the young ace scored only with Gonda ahead. 1-0, at 31 minutes.
The second appeared even before the break (45+2′), in a move in which the Portimonense goalkeeper is not without blame. Gonda saved Trincão's first shot forward and Raúl Silva appeared on the rebound. The bid was still analyzed by the video-referee, allegedly out of play, but was eventually validated.
For the second half, Paulo Sérgio released Aylton and took out Lucas Fernandes, perhaps in an attempt to shake up the game. If that was the intention, we'll never know… And why?
Because Braga scored again, just in the 46th minute. Trincão (a star…) crossed, Jadson couldn't cut and Ricardo Horta had time for everything: he dominated and shot without a chance to make it 3-0.
The fourth only did not reach the 59th minute because Paulinho hit the bar again. As for Portimonense, their first shot on goal came at 69′, by Ricardo Vaz Tê.
The veteran Portuguese striker even ended up scoring in the 77th minute, in a crossed shot, with the ball still hitting the post. But the move was canceled for offside, putting to the ground the little hopes of the Algarve.
The final minutes, strangely enough, were even those in which Portimonense showed better football. In such a way that he scored, already at 90+3′, through Aylton Boa Morte.
With this defeat, by 3-1, Portimonense maintains 16 points and the penultimate place, being 6 points below the waterline. The Algarve has not won since November 30th.
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