Tondela secured their first victory of the Liga Portugal 2 season with a 3-0 win against Porto B at the Estadio João Cardoso on Saturday. The result lifted them off the bottom of the table, though they remain in 12th place with just six points from five matches. Porto B dropped further to 16th, their third straight defeat after only one win all season.
Arjen Van Der Heide opened the scoring in the 29th minute, and here's the thing — the Dutch striker had already received a yellow card earlier in the half. Tondela controlled the tempo despite Porto B holding 56 per cent of possession. By then, four yellow cards had already appeared, the game growing increasingly physical as the visitors searched for an answer.
The second goal came shortly after the break when Antonio Tomane found the net in the 47th minute. The home side made two changes at half-time, bringing on Trofim Melnichenko and Duarte Cunha, and the substitutions seemed to shift momentum. Tomane's strike put the result beyond doubt, and Porto B's attack, which managed just one shot on target all afternoon, looked increasingly desperate.
Joao Marcos Lima Candido added the third goal in the 87th minute to end a barren spell for the hosts. Tondela had been winless in their previous four league matches, losing to União Leiria, Académico, and Leixões before that narrow 2-1 win over Amarante. This result finally broke the pattern, and the home fans could celebrate something they hadn't seen in weeks.
The statistics tell their own story. Porto B dominated possession at 56 per cent but mustered only one shot on target from a single attempt, while Tondela registered eight shots on target from 17 attempts. The visitors had more attacks at 70 to 66, but the difference was in their finishing. Tondela's shots accuracy stood at 47 per cent compared to Porto B's perfect but meaningless 100 per cent.
Both teams remain in the lower half of the table, but the gap between them has widened. Tondela moved to six points from five games, while Porto B sit on three with the same number of matches played. The home side still face an uphill battle to climb out of their current position, but this performance suggested they had finally found their rhythm.