Feirense hosted Porto B at the Estádio Marcolino di Castro on Sunday evening, losing 0-1 in the third round of the Liga de Portugal 2. The visitors took the lead in the twenty-first minute through M. Cunha, and that proved to be the decisive moment of the contest. Both sides arrived with shaky starts to the campaign, and neither looked particularly comfortable.
The opener came early enough to settle the nerves of whoever backed the visitors. Cunha found space and finished clinically, and by then Feirense had already begun searching for an equaliser. Porto B did not need much possession to make their advantage count — they were not going to chase the game.
Feirense made changes at half-time, bringing on A. Lopes for T. Antunes, who had picked up a yellow card earlier in the first period. The hosts continued to pile on substitutions, with T. Melnichenko and C. Varela arriving in the fifty-seventh minute. They threw everything at it after the break, but Porto B defended resolutely and hit them on the break when they could.
More changes followed as the match wore on. M. Mide and D. Cunha came on together in the sixty-ninth, while Danny replaced someone at seventy. Feirense had 56 per cent of the ball and launched 92 attacks, yet their shots accuracy sat at a dismal eight per cent. One shot on target against three for Porto B told the story of a side that never got going.
The visitors were more efficient with their possession. They registered three shots on target from four attempts, compared to Feirense's seven off-target efforts and a single on-target effort. Porto B also won twenty free kicks against twelve, suggesting the hosts were often reaching for tackles rather than playing their passing game. The old head settled them down, and they held firm.
Four yellow cards were shown in total, with L. Gomes receiving one in stoppage time. Feirense remain at the bottom of the table on four points from four games, while Porto B sit fifteenth with three points. Cup football has its own rules, but this was not a cup match — it was a straight league encounter where the line has barely moved.
