Campeonato de Portugal Prio – Part Two: all to play for in the north

Following on from last week’s piece on the current season in the Campeonato de Portugal Prio Série A, this week sees us head slightly further south and into Série B territory.
 
It’s probably fair to say that this is the most competitive of the five divisions in the third tier of Portuguese football at present. Every single one of the 16 teams is currently involved in a relegation or promotion battle - it’s that tight. Just five points separate the top six clubs while, at the other end, a mere four points’ difference is all that separates the relegation spots from 7th place. 
 
Whilst there are some traditionally big clubs in Série B for 2017-18, there is only one that experienced relegation from the Segunda Divisão at the end of last season. Freadmunde finished 21st in the aforementioned competition and now find themselves struggling to maintain CPP status, but more on that later…
   
 

Série B - The Top

Sporting Espinho (44 points)
Make no mistake about it, Série B will be won by the side that manages to hold its nerve for the remaining six games of the competition. Sporting Espinho currently occupy top spot but have only a 5-point cushion over Amarante who sit all the way down in 6th place. 
 
This is made even more interesting when one glances over Espinho’s remaining fixtures: home games with Cesarense (3rd) and Felgueiras (2nd) as well as a trip to Cinfães (4th) on the final day of the season. As you can see, there is very little room for error. Espinho are led by Rui Quinta, who can list a spell as Assistant Coach to Vítor Pereira at Porto among his many previous assignments. He spent part of the second half of last season with Vizela in the Segunda Divisão and was charged with overhauling an Espinho squad which has been playing regional football (4th tier) for the past two seasons. 
 
Perhaps the most interesting signing is former Boavista attacking midfielder, Samu. Having made appearances for Os Axadrezados at junior level and then through the CPP to the Primeira Liga, the 21-year-old former Portugal Under-19’s man spent last season with Fafe in the Segunda Divisão before signing for Espinho at the beginning of the current campaign. He has chipped in with an impressive 8 goals from 17 starts, helping to repay Quinta’s faith in his abilities. 
 
However, the top scorer this season is an Espinho native currently in his third season with the club. Carlitos (32) currently has 10 goals in 23 starts, including a hat-trick against Coimbrões back in September. The experienced striker also found the net on 22 occasions in 30 starts during the Campeonato Safina title-winning season of 2016-17. Elsewhere, another new signing that is weighing in with goals is giant Cape Verdean striker, Gilson Varela (9 goals from 18 starts) who was signed from Pinhalnovense. 
 
Meanwhile, Bruno Gomes (26) is currently in his third season with Espinho and has been an ever-present in the league campaign with 24 starts and contributing a solitary goal. Another interesting addition has been Bruno Moraes, the former Porto, Setúbal, Naval, Leiria and Gil Vicente striker. The Brazilian has, however, been used sparingly in this campaign with 3 goals from 7 starts.   
 
 

The Chasing Pack

And so to the challengers for top spot, and there are plenty of them in Série B! Can any of the contenders displace Espinho at the summit? If you consider yourself a good tipster, you’’ll like Betting Tips and Predictions.  
 
Felgueiras (2nd - 42 points) 
On 42 points, it’s a remarkable story that has seen the club go out of business due to financial difficulties in 2005, only to be resurrected as Felgueiras 1932 in 2006 in the lower reaches of the Porto Regional League. However, the club has long been competitive at CPP level since working its way through the pyramid and now finds itself on the cusp of a possible return to second-tier football. 
 
A change of Coach in January following indifferent form has seen Ricardo Sousa lose just 2 out of the 9 games he’s overseen. However, this past weekend saw Felgueiras travelled to rivals, Cesarense, where they were beaten 3-2 after conceding in the 90th minute. The defeat means that Felgueiras lost top spot but also that Cesarense have come to within a point of them. Central defender, Pinto, has been a lynchpin of the side this season with 23 starts and a solitary goal while holding midfielder, Cuca, has made 21 starts. 25-year-old Ivorian striker, Goba, leads the club’s scoring charts with 11 league goals from 20 starts (13 goals in all competitions) and he is backed up by summer signing, Patrick, a Cape Verdean who has netted on 10 occasions from just 12 league starts. 
 
The downside to Felgueiras’ current points tally is that it will not be enough to take them into the play-offs, all things being equal. They currently have the lowest points total of any of the second placed clubs in the CPP - the top three going into the play-offs with the divisional winners.  
 
Cesarense (3rd - 41 points) 
As mentioned previously, Cesarense hosted Felgueiras (at the time top) this past weekend and won 3-2 to put themselves right in the mix for a place in the CPP play-offs. The current coach is Flávio das Neves who took over from former Portugal, Porto and Real Madrid defender, Secretário, last month. Even more intriguing is that das Neves actually joined from promotion rivals, Cinfães, which is sure to add extra spice to next weekend’s game. 
 
The side is currently on a run of three straight wins and goes into this coming weekend’s promotion “six-pointer” with Cinfães full of confidence. This is helped by the goal scoring form of Brazilian summer signing, Júlio Alves (12 goals in 21 starts), and 27-year-old Ângelo (11 goals in 23 starts). These two alone account for 23 of Cesarense’s total 36 league goals this campaign.  
 
Cinfães (4th - 41 points) 
Below Cesarense as a result of losing 1-0 in Cesar back in November, Cinfães have actually been experiencing a tough spell since the New Year. Just 3 wins in 10 since the beginning of 2018 means that the club will need to find consistency going into the home straight. And it will be a tough one for Cinfães, with all of the current top three clubs still to play. On top of hosting Cesarense this Sunday, Felgueiras visit on 1st April and the regular season is rounded off with visit from current leaders, Espinho on 22nd April. 
 
The men charged with carrying Cinfães to the promised land will be striker, Caminata (7 goals in 16 starts), who signed from União Madeira in the summer, and also ever-present attacking midfielder, Ivo Lemos (7 goals in 24 starts). 22-year-old Swiss-Portuguese right-back, Micael, has made 23 starts since signing from Sanjoanense in the off-season.  
 
Gondomar (5th - 41 points) 
Having had an indifferent first half of the season, Gondomar experienced a resurgence at the end of November. The club went on a run of 8 wins in 9 matches (they drew with Freamunde in between) before losing 3 of their last 5. It’s form which has seen them slip from 3rd to 5th, having lost to three of the four clubs above them in that short run of games. 
 
As with Cinfães, José Alberto’s side have managed just 33 league goals in 2017-18. Kiko, a 24-year-old striker from Madeira, is the club’s leading scorer with 9 goals in 13 starts. However, next in the charts are Ivan Santos and Telmo Castanheira who have 3 goals each. Gondomar will need to find their shooting boots if they are to push for the play-offs. 
 
That said, a run-in which includes none of the sides in the top six could see them put together a late run of form. 26-year-old goalkeeper, Pedro Cavadas, has been an ever-present with 24 starts and could be relied upon for if the goals continue to be sparse at the other end.  
 
Amarante (6th - 39 points) 
The final side I’m looking at in the chasing pack is Amarante. Currently 5 points clear of 7th placed Pedras Rubras, they are coached by Pedro Pinto who is in his fifth season with the club. During that time they have finished 6th in the third tier in the previous four seasons. 
 
The club only has Gondomar left to play from the top 5 sides in the division (1st April) and fixtures against five of the bottom six clubs will give them belief that they too can make a late run for the play-offs. They have already done the double over Felgueiras this season and also beat Espinho away 2-1 in February but a defeat to the side immediately below them, Pedras Rubras, will have been viewed as a big setback. 
 
Goals have not been a big problem for Amarante in 2017-18. The club possesses the division’s top scorer in Ghanaian striker, Paul Ayongo. The 21-year-old, currently in his third season at Municipal de Amarante, has so far found the net on 19 occasions in 23 league starts! Included in that number is a 4-goal haul in a 4-3 win over Camacha in January. He has also scored a further 3 goals in the Taça de Portugal which included the only goal in a 1-0 win over Segunda Divisão side, Varzim, in Round 2. Hélder Pedro has also weighed in having managed a very creditable 8 goals from 17 starts in midfield. 
 
 

Relegation Candidates

As said earlier in this piece, relegation is a very serious reality for the remainder of Série B’s clubs. Pedras Rubras in 7th sit on 4 points clear of Trofense in 11th. Indeed, even the basement side, Sousense, sit on 18 points and can still get out of trouble with a late flourish. 
 
Trofense’s story is a sad one with the club playing top-flight football only a decade ago and second tier football as recently as 2015. The club is now in danger of regional league football despite having a better win record than the clubs around them. 9 wins in 24 games looks steady but only 3 draws means that the remaining 12 losses are also higher than most clubs in the immediate vicinity. Australian, Anthony Carter, is now of Benfica fame of course and he is still Trofense’s second top scorer on 4 goals from 13 starts, despite having left in January for the Lisbon giants. 
 
Freamunde, now coached by former Porto legend Helton, are in a similar position having played second-tier football for the past three seasons. However, 25 points from 24 games sees them 5 points off of safety with Espinho and Amarante still to play. Helton has overseen just 2 wins in his 9 league games in charge and has his work cut out to maintain the club’s CPP status. 
 
His job has been made all the more difficult by the exit of the side’s top scorer, Niang, to Recreio Águeda of Série C. The Senegalese had contributed 3 goals in 6 starts towards the club’s survival effort.
 
Make no mistake, for the neutral, Série B has it all to offer. Watch this space… 
 
 

Important Dates… 

18th March - Cinfães v Cesarense 
1st April Espinho v Cesarense 
1st April - Cinfães v Felgueiras 
1st April - Amarante v Gondomar 
15th April - Espinho v Felgueiras 
22nd April - Cinfães v Espinho 
 
By Paul Gellard