Liga II roundup: Tondela hit top spot thanks to Costinha magic

PortuGOAL’s Liga II weekly roundup is back. Throughout the season José Ricardo Leite will be reporting on the race to join Portugal’s elite next season and the fight to avoid dropping out of the nation’s two fully professional leagues.

This week, the Liga II action brought some significant changes at the top and bottom of the championship. 

Penafiel and Benfica B lost some points due to their respective draws against Mafra and Marítimo, which may be a turning point at the top. Tondela, Chaves, Académico de Viseu and Torreense moved up the table. At the other end, Portimonense, the historical Algarve club that was in the top flight last season, are still struggling to get out of the danger zone, while FC Porto B managed to score a last-minute goal to run away from the relegation spots.

Giants of old go head-to-head

This round started with two long-sleeping giants facing each other in Viseu. Académico hosted Leixões, two former top tier teams with serious aspirations of going up this season. However, the Viriathus gave no chance to the Red Northerns. 2-0 was the surprising final result, since Leixões, before this game, had the best defence in the League. Académico is now sniffing around the top spots in the table with just 5 points separating them from the leaders.

Previous leaders Penafiel slipped up this week against Mafra. It was supposed to be an easy game for Penafiel, but Mafra presented themselves with a solid defence and some sparks of magic, especially in midfield. The main men of Penafiel such as Zé Leite or Reko put in poor performances and that was crucial for them to lose top spot to Tondela.

Tondela hit the summit

It is about the Tondela team that this Championship is focused on. Even going up against a complete giant like Paços de Ferreira (who 10 years ago were playing in the Champions League playoffs) this team did not crack. Their secret could be a perfect combination of youth and experience, which has led to a record of 7 wins, 5 draws and zero defeats in Liga II so far.

However, the secret ingredient may be found on the streets before a match and inside the stadium during it. In the stands, the people of Tondela just does not let them fall or fail. They lifted them up from a bad start in the second half where Paços looked like outplaying them and then, near the end, looked like a completely different team. Aggressive, passionate and with a will to win that is hard to find these days. An amazing win against one of the favourites to be promoted and Tondela are now leading the way in the second division! 

Portimonense continue to tumble

Portimonense just cannot defend. That is their main issue. Liga II is probably the most competitive in Portugal and the key to doing well is having a solid defence. The “Promotion Master”, Vítor Oliveira, always opted for an experienced defence, in opposition to the attack, where the young talents stood out. Portimonense cannot defend to save their own mother and that may be what ends up costing them relegation to the third tier if things don’t start to get in line. It would be a shame to see such an historic club fall further down the pyramid, next to other historical top-tier clubs such as Académica, Trofense or Os Belenenses.

FC Porto B finally found a win, even though it was against the bottom of the table Oliveirense. In opposition to Portimonense, Oliveirense can’t score to save their mother, which makes them the absolute worst attack in the League. Even though they have an interesting team with some technical talent, the youth seems to be a little afraid of scoring goals and averse to the risk of losing the ball. Some experience brought in in the opening of the market might be what Oliveirense needs to get out of the danger zone.

FC Porto B has the exact same problem as their main team: they don’t have a coach that can manage that locker room. That is crucial in a team that wants to be champions and in a team that is trying to flee the bottom of the table. Porto president André Villas-Boas might have the same problem in the two professional football teams and that is dangerous for the stability of the club.

Player of the week: Costinha (Tondela)

A game changer. He may not be the best in technical ability, but he embodied the support that was coming from the stands when he entered the pitch. That spirit passed on to his teammates that almost immediately changed their attitude from one of accepting their fate to one of running like it was the end of the world.

From one of those runs, Costinha won a corner and was from his cross into the box that captain Ricardo Alves scored the header that gave Tondela the win. A huge result for Tondela, and everything changed when Costinha was substituted on.