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PortuGOAL Figure of the Week: Jefferson’s brilliant brace sees Moreirense’s survival bid take flight

Portugal’s top four teams continued to separate themselves from the pack in Liga Bwin’s twenty-ninth round of games this weekend. Porto took another step towards wrestling the title back from Sporting, who remained six points behind after the pair both recorded victories. Benfica and Braga cemented third and fourth place respectively after wins over Belenenses SAD and Vizela.

Paços Ferreira and Santa Clara edged into the top of the table, while Portimonense and Boavista also got important victories to distance themselves from the relegation dogfight.

Speaking on the latter point, one of the biggest victors of the round in this respect was Moreirense, who upset the odds to claim a massive three points away to high fliers Gil Vicente. The team’s newly acquired Brazilian midfielder Jefferson was the hero with two fine goals, and as a result is in focus as our PortuGOAL Figure of the Week. 

Brazilian-born Jefferson Nogueira Junior was likely not a name too familiar with Portuguese audiences upon his signing for Moreirense in the January transfer window of this campaign, although he was well known but his current boss Ricardo Sá Pinto, with whom the player had worked with at the midfielder’s previous club Gaziantep in Turkey’s Süper Lig.

The pair have linked up once more in Portugal with Sá Pinto giving Jefferson a couple of games to build up fitness before establishing him as one of the first names on the team sheet in the centre of midfield. 

However, barring his debut as a substitute in which Moreirense thrashed relegation rivals Belenenses SAD, good results have not followed Jefferson’s own steady improvement as the team were winless ever since the aforementioned victory, in fact only picking up one point in the seven games that followed. None of this boded well for a daunting trip to Gil Vicente on Friday night, a team enjoying a superb campaign albeit in some stuttering form of their own.

For the evening’s contest Jefferson anchored the midfield alongside Gonçalo Franco, a player who has been very much in and out of the XI this season, the pair shielding the back three of Fábio Pacheco, Lazar Rosić and Artur Jorge.

Moreirense did not find the match going their way for much of the first half though, Gil Vicente squandering many opportunities to score although the away side did similarly by way of Rafael Martins’ poor miss late in the half. The early stages of the second only got worse for Jefferson’s side as Pacheco was dismissed for a last man challenge, and the writing looked on the wall.

However Jefferson’s fine work almost led to a surprise opening goal in the 57th minute, the Brazilian’s pressing forcing Vítor Carvalho into a mistake, which Martins pounced upon before setting up Jefferson, but his deflected shot was just about kept out by Žiga Frelih in the home goal.

Just a few minutes later though Moreirense would make Gil Vicente pay for their missed chances by breaking the deadlock. Godfried Frimpong’s overhit free kick was rescued by substitute Derik Lacerda, who did superbly to retrieve the ball and drive into the box before pulling the ball back for Jefferson to fire past Frelih.

Right on 74 minutes the same combination provided Moreirense a two goal cushion as Jefferson scored his second of the match, and in some style too. More Lacerda brilliance in the buildup found his compatriot in space well outside of the penalty, and Jefferson took a touch before letting fly with a stunning curling effort past an almost motionless Frelih in the Gil Vicente goal.

Moreirense then faced an absolute onslaught from the home side as Samuel Lino pulled a goal back, the woodwork was rattled on two other occasions and VAR denied a dramatic late penalty call, but Sá Pinto’s men held out for a victory that could prove pivotal in their Liga Bwin survival bid.

Not too many will have heard of Jefferson before this pulsating encounter but his stunning goal will certainly put him on the Primeira Liga map. It looks like the Brazilian could play a key role in the championship run-in, Moreirense will need to keep him fit and firing it seems if they wish to extend their current eight year run in Portugal’s top flight.

By Jamie Farr

@FRfutebolJamie