Portugal 2-1 Honduras
Portugal overcame a difficult start against Honduras to secure a well deserved victory at the Estádio Olimpico in Rio de Janeiro tonight.
Elis' early goal brought Portugal crashing back down to earth after their opening match win over Argentina, but Tobias Figueiredo and Paciencia overturned the deficit, culminating a brilliant but also profligate attacking display.
Rui Jorge made no changes to the side that defeated Argentina 2-0 on Thursday while Honduras made one change in midfield to better accommodate a more attack-oriented 4-3-3. That change paid off less than a minute into the match when Fernando Fonseca allowed a cross from the left flank that Alberth Elis met with an acrobatic finish despite pressure from Ricardo Esgaio.
The early goal clearly rocked Portugal's confidence and much of the opening ten minutes was characterized by misplaced passes and poor control. More worryingly perhaps, Sergio Oliveira picked up a 9th minute yellow card that rules him out of Portugal's final group stage match against Algeria. Honduras were pressing high up the pitch from the onset, and Quioto found space on the left to test Varela with a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 17th minute.
Portugal hit back
From that point on, Portugal found their feet and began to test Honduras' high line. In the 19th minute, Fernandes burst through onto an Andre Martins pass but the keeper did well to smother the danger.
Minutes later, Portugal were level. Agra's corner kick was worked out to Sergio Oliveira, who put in a cross from the right that found an unmarked Tobias at the back post. The Sporting defender had time to pick his spot, and placed an excellent header into the opposite corner past Luis Lopez.
Portugal continued to send crosses over the top of defence and through gaps in midfield, and Salvador Agra broke the offside trap in the 34th minute. The Nacional winger was all alone but took a heavy touch as he bypassed the keeper allowing the ball to roll out for a goal kick.
Portugal kept coming and were rewarded for their efforts with a bit of fortune in the 36th minute. Bruno Fernandes cut in from the left and had his shot deflected straight into the path of Gonçalo Paciencia, whose controlled finish into the bottom left corner gave Portugal a deserved lead.
At the other end, Quioto headed a presentable chance over the bar after being set up by a cross from Elis on the right wing. There was still time for Agra to squander two more decent opportunities as Portugal finished the first half well on top.
Portugal were full of confidence to start the second half, winning an early free kick that Fernandes placed wide right. Andre Martins found himself alone at the top of the penalty area in the 52nd minute after a counterattack, and hit a speculative half volley straight at Lopez.
Lopez denies Portugal
Honduras countered with two shots of their own, but both were easy pickings for Varela. Then, in the 55th minute, Lopez pulled off a string of interventions to deny three Portugal chances in quick succession. Andre Martins burst free down the right onto a Bruno Fernandes throughball, and his cross created mass confusion in the Honduran defence. Lopez denied Agra before making a point blank save from Paciencia, a major let off for the Central Americans.
Rui Jorge responded by exchanging Mané for Agra in the 59th minute. The Sporting winger was immediately involved as he burst down the right onto a pass over the defence from Fernandes. Mané did brilliantly to cut inside but curled his effort beyond the far post.
Honduras threatened on the counterattack with Quioto sending in a cross from the right that Lozano should have scored, but the striker mishit his headed attempt wide right.
Pité entered the fray at the expense of Paciencia, and sent in a dangerous cross that Allans Vargas nearly put into his own net as he prevented the ball from reaching Mané.
Chico Ramos replaced Oliveira in the 75th minute as Portugal labored for control of midfield. Meanwhile, Quito continued to make a real nuisance of himself, creating danger down the right wing as Honduras began looking for more opportunities on the counter.
Pité should have at least tested the keeper in the 81st minute, but he scuffed his effort wide right. Lozano headed over again in the 86th minute as Honduras continued to threaten with crosses from wide positions.
Mané teed up Chico Ramos to shoot in the 89th minute, but the Porto youngster blazed wide right. Bruno Fernandes wasted an even better chance in stoppage time after controlling a cross over the top of the defence from the right, but Lopez again came out quickly to smother the danger.
Pité missed another good opportunity at the end of stoppage time when his shot from the right side of the box was parried away by Lopez, but the missed chances proved to be inconsequential as Portugal ran out 2-1 winners.
It was yet another energetic display full of attacking invention from Portugal's youngsters at this Olympic Games. Despite starting the match in the worst possible way, Portugal collected their resolve and probably should have won by a more significant margin in the end. The victory ensures Portugal's passage to the quarterfinals barring extraordinary circumstances with the only concern for Rui Jorge being the suspensions of Tobias and Oliveira due to yellow card accumulation.
Portugal will finish Group D play against Algeria on Wednesday. That match could potentially be a "dead rubber" pending the result of the Algerians match against Argentina later tonight.
by Nathan Motz
