1 October 2007, by Paulo Carvalho

Relentless Porto march on

FC Porto 2-0 Boavista

There appears no end in sight to FC Porto’s winning streak as the Dragons took full points from Boavista as they won the Porto derby 2-0 on Saturday night.

Lisandro Lopez continues his impressive strike rate as he notched both goals, giving him a total of six goals in six games.

Boavista knew they were in for a fight as Porto piled on the pressure from the start. Lopez almost scored in the 4th minute after latching onto a Quaresma free kick and hitting an effort over the net; a sure sign of things to come.

The home team soon earned the fruits of their labour when Lopez scored in the 14th minute as he jumped all over a rebound that Carlos spilled from a Quaresma free kick and slotted the ball into the net. Poor marking by Moises left Lopez unattended at the crucial moment.

Boavista fight back

Boavista responded quickly as Edgar crossed dangerously from the left with Ze Kalanga almost getting on the end of it. In the 20th minute Jorge Ribeiro took one of his trademark free kicks which Helton had to punch away for a corner with two Boavista players waiting to pounce.

The game then went into a lull with both teams failing to produce any clear-cut opportunities as play was restricted to the centre of the pitch. Shortly before the break Rissut fired a rocket shot from long range that Helton managed to punch away for a corner kick.

The second half started much the same as the opening half ended, with few opportunities for either side. But Boavista almost found a leveller in the 53rd minute as Edgar failed to convert a Fleurival cross inside the 6-yard box, sending his effort over the crossbar. Jorge Ribeiro then had an effort on goal which Helton had to be sharp to save as Boavista applied a good spell of pressure.

Porto finally woke up in the 66th minute as Quaresma found Raul Meireles with a free kick and the Portugal international let fly with a screamer that missed the target by inches. Boavista immediately came close at the other end of the pitch as second-half substitute Bongoura swept past Bosingwa and Stepanov and his shot forced Helton into a good smothering save.

Clinical Lopez

Bosingwa shot narrowly over the bar in the 72nd minute, but the hosts finally sealed their victory in the 74th minute as Lopez smartly took down a Cech cross and fired his shot past Carlos.

A deflated Boavista almost conceded a third goal as Quaresma missed the net by the smallest of margins with a free kick in the 90th minute.

The win will boost Porto’s morale heading into this week’s Champions League encounter when they fly to Turkey and take on Besiktas.

FC Porto:
Helton, Bosingwa, Stepanov, Bruno Alves, Cech, Lucho Gonzalez (Bolatti, 77), Paulo Assuncao, Raul Miereles (Adriano, 77), Sektioui (Leandro Lima, 46), Lisandro Lopez, Quaresma
Yellow Card: Lisandro Lopez (75)

Boavista:
Carlos, Rissut, Ricardo Silva, Marcelao, Moises, Fleurival, Diakite, Jorge Ribeiro, Ze Kalanga (Bangoura, 52), Edgar, Mateus (Laionel, 70)
Yellow Cards: Ze Kalanga (3), Rissut (62), Bangoura (73)

Goals:
[1-0] Lisandro Lopez, 14
[2-0] Lisandro Lopez , 74