On the week that commenced with a shock 2-0 defeat for Sporting against Chaves and resumed with FC Porto’s first loss of the season, at the hands of Rio Ave, 17-goal Sporting de Braga were on hand to make this round of fixtures their own after taking to the top of the table with another beating - this one handed to Arouca in a 6-0 victory.
Estoril Praia were the first to smile after recapturing their form and claiming a key 3-0 victory against winless Paços de Ferreira that deepens the Castores into crisis mode.
The win takes Estoril up to fifth place, level with Casa Pia who themselves left Vitória, their defeated opponents, with questions to ponder ahead of next week’s derby against high-flying Braga. Here’s a round-up of the action from Matchday 4:
P. Ferreira 0-3 Estoril
The Castores came into Matchday 4 in search of their first result of the season, hosting an Estoril side who’s own form had raised its fair share of head-scratching since their opening-day victory versus Famalicão.
As both sides sharpened their cutlery, it was in fact the visitors who did much of the carving, taking the advantage in the 26th minute via João Carlos’ tap-in from a well-worked goal.
Estoril’s goalscorer made it 2-0 on the brink of half-time with his head, spelling trouble for a Paços outfit set to make it three defeats out of three in the league.
César Peixoto’s men promised a better showing early in the second half but the aptitude was soon derailed by a Matchoi Djaló red card, reducing Paços down to ten men with approximately a third of the game still to be played.
James Léa Siliki got in on the act with Estoril’s third in the 72nd minute, condemning Paços, who eventually ended the encounter down to nine men, to a third loss on the bounce.
Arouca 0-6 Sp. Braga
The people of Arouca set themselves up for quite the bout on Sunday evening as Sporting de Braga, with 11 goals in their last three games, came to town to threaten a positive start to the season that garnered two wins from three league fixtures.
Braga arrived in an unforgiving mood, breaking the deadlock just 23 seconds in via Simon Banza’s finish before a 4th-minute strike from Ricardo Horta projected a troubling 90 minutes ahead for the hosts, now 2-0 down.
Banza was at the heart of it all as the Arsenalistas doubled their two-goal lead before the break, winning the penalty that allowed Horta to claim a brace before slipping Vitinha through for his first goal of the game.
The pick of the bunch where goals are concerned came from André Castro in the 67th minute, guiding a long-ranger deep into the top corner before new boy Diego Lainez generated the smiles with the final strike of the day, catapulting Braga to the top with a 6-0 hammering.
Vitória 0-1 Casa Pia
Casa Pia caught their first taste of three points just last week, but the chances to double up on the feeling were made tougher by the scheduled visit to the dreaded Dom Afonso Henriques stadium, welcomed by a Vitória side keen to get back to winning terms.
The visitors made a flying start, however, smashing the bar early through Afonso Taira moments before Kuni’s opener in the 7th minute. Casa Pia’s Japanese midfielder could’ve made it 2-0 shortly after, forcing Bruno Varela into an instinctive save from a diving header on the half-hour mark.
Vitória were roared on by the crowd in search of a response that, aside from a disallowed Anderson goal, never materialised for the hosts, marking a second league defeat against their record ahead of next week's short trip to Braga.
By Patrick Ribeiro
Matchday 4
P. Ferreira 0-3 Estoril
Marítimo 0-1 Portimonense
Boavista 0-3 Benfica
Sporting 0-2 Chaves
Famalicão 1-0 S. Clara
Arouca 0-6 Sp. Braga
Rio Ave 3-1 FC Porto
Vitória 0-1 Casa Pia
Vizela 2-2 Gil Vicente
