Portimonense stun Sporting CP in six goal thriller

Portimonense, who were rooted to the bottom of the Primeira Liga table at the start of play, stormed to an impressive 4-2 victory over Sporting CP, furthering the Lisbon club’s less than spectacular start to the season.

In what was another sensational display from Portimonense’s Japanese winger Shoya Nakajima, the home side stormed to a two-goal first-half lead, with Nakajima first getting an assist on the board when he played the ball to Wilson Manafa who, after a quick change in direction, drilled the ball into the bottom corner, past the oustretched leg of Salin, beating the Sporting keeper at his near post. Nakajima then got himself on the scoresheet just before half time after drilling the ball into the back of the net, his sweet first-time effort too powerful once again for Salin in between the sticks for Sporting.

There was a great deal of concern when that strike found the back of the net though, with Salin colliding with the post in his bid to keep the ball out of the net, subsequently being taken off just before half time on a stretcher.

Sporting’s hopes of getting back into the game very much increased in the second half, with Bruno Fernandes having an excellent effort just five minutes after the break, his long-range strike just bending past the post. There was another excellent opportunity for Sporting to close the gap on the hour mark, with Bruno Fernandes this time drilling in a cross, which Jovane Cabral somehow blazed over the bar.

Sporting eventually found the goal that they had been pushing for though, with one of Sporting’s standout players in Fredy Montero getting on the end of Nani’s pass into the box, tapping the ball past the helpless Navacchio after Portimonense failed to clear their lines.

But despite Sporting pushing for a goal, they were without reward for their efforts with 10 minutes of the game to go.

And it was Portimonenese who next found the back of the net, the magician that is Shoya Nakajima again the man to get Portimonense fans on their feet, controlling the ball before thumping the ball past Sporting substitute goalkeeper Ribeiro from the edge of the box in the 82nd minute.

With time running out, Sporting managed to earn themselves yet another lifeline with Sebastian Coates finding himself in the opposition penalty area as a makeshift forward, thumping Nani’s cross into the back of the net.

With five minutes added on, not many would have bet against Sporting going on to find the leveller, but it was Portimonense who had the last laugh; with Sporting flooding forward to grab the goal they craved, Portimonense hit them on the counter in stoppage time, with Nakajima playing in Joao Carlos, who got behind the Sporting backline and sprinted from the halfway line before firing home.

The win sees Portimonense move out of the relegation zone, while Sporting CP stay fifth, a point behind Fabio Coentrao’s Rio Ave.