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| Saturday, 21 April 2012 23:46 |
Hulk steers Porto to comfortable winFC Porto 3-0 Beira-Mar Porto reinstated their lead at the top of the league table with a comfortable victory over Beira-Mar thanks to a Hulk brace and a Marc Janko goal.
Benfica’s 4-1 win over Maritimo earlier in the day had put the pressure on Porto to restore their advantage at the top of the table to four points once again. Porto displayed their dominance straight from the start with Marc Janko forcing Rui Rego into an early save after just a few minutes had elapsed. Beira-Mar look to have their Primeira Liga survival all but assured and didn’t offer Porto’s defence too much to think about in the rare moments they saw the ball. Indeed, Porto’s defenders were more frequently seen in attacking roles. Maicon headed just over from a Joao Moutinho free kick early on in the game. James Rodriguez was next to go close for Porto, the Colombian’s solo effort going just wide of the target after some typically impressive footwork. Despite Porto’s dominance it took the penalty spot for them to find the opening goal. Cristian Sapunaru was brought down by substitute Ricardo Dias, the man who had been brought on early in the game by Ulisses Morais for the injured Nuno Coelho. Hulk spot onHulk was the man to step up and take the penalty in the 32nd minute. The Brazilian forward hitting his shot powerfully onto the inside of the post and into the net in expert fashion. Porto almost doubled their lead just a few minutes later. Marc Janko had a superb chance to head in from a free kick but headed over from just yards away from goal.After a dominant first half in which the home side had an impressive 70% of the possession, it didn’t take them long to make an impact after the break. Some smart play on the right-hand side by Hulk enabled Marc Janko to convert the Brazilian’s cross from close range to double the home side’s lead. It was the Austrian’s fifth goal for the club since transferring from FC Twente in January. The home side didn’t take long to add a third goal. This time Maicon pulled the ball back for Hulk to strike low and hard into the net. Goalkeeper Rui Rego got a hand to it and perhaps should have done better but the power of the strike was enough to add more gloss to the scoreline. Danilo returnsThe third goal killed the game off and the home side were content to run out the remainder of the game with ease. Hulk was close to sealing a hat-trick in stoppage time after what was a great performance from Porto’s talisman. The victory puts Porto in an excellent position once more with just three games remaining in the league. But with a trip to face Maritimo followed by a home game against Sporting in the next two fixtures, Vitor Pereira will no doubt be warning his players that the potential for a banana skin is there. For Beira-Mar this defeat is no less than expected although they will be disappointed not to have put up more of a fight against the champions-elect. by Richard Cole
FC Porto: Helton, Alex Sandro, Otamendi, Maicon, Sapunaru (Danilo, 57), Defour (Fernando, 53), Lucho Gonzalez, Joao Moutinho, Janko (Varela, 66), James Rodriguez, Hulk Goals: [1-0] Hulk, 33 (pen) [2-0] Janko, 51 [3-0] Hulk, 54 |
I'm still holding out hope Porto once again slips up.