A splendid Football League II final with seven straight victories took Farense under José Mota from fourth to second place, guaranteeing their return to the top flight after a two-year absence.
The Algarve team, which finished second with 66 points, celebrated on the couch this Sunday their promotion to the division – a goal set from the first day of the season – by joining the champions Moreirense a day after the end of the championship. taking advantage of the loss of Estrela da Amador, third with 60, against Nacional.
Coach José Mota, 59, who replaced Vasco Faisca on Farense’s technical team in early February, added his fifth promotion to the I Liga after two with Pacos de Ferreira, one with Feirense and another with Bird Sports.
The most outstanding player was winger Marco Matias, 34, with five goals and 11 assists, but Rui Costa with nine goals, Brazilians Pedro Henrique (eight) and Lucao (seven, all as substitutes) and Portuguese-Romanian Cristian Ponde (six goals). and six assists) also stood out in the attack of the Faro team.
Already in the final phase of the season, Farense benefited from the experience of defenders Muscat and Abner and midfielders Fabrizio Isidoro and Claudio Falcao, combined with the “freshness” brought by goalkeeper Ricardo Velho and center Goncalo Silva, still routine substitutions, and right back Pastor and midfielder Matthäus Oliveira, both signed in winter.
Vasco Faisca, the manager who provided maintenance the previous season, led the Algarve to a good level in the first third of the season, interrupted by Mundial2022 in second place with a six-point lead over Estrela da Amadora.
On the relaunch, the Faro side looked more “disconnected”, lost Colombian midfielder Velázquez to injury and recorded a three consecutive away defeat streak in the competition which saw SAD drop Faisca after round 18, still in second place but only with one point more than the “tricolors”.
After Neka temporarily led the team in a 2-2 reception to Estrela da Amador, José Mota made his debut with a loss to Académico de Viseu on Matchday 20, dropping two places in the table after other poor results.
But various changes in the “eleven” stabilized the Faro team, which, with a string of seven wins in a row (four of them on the road) from the 27th to the 33rd round, returned to second place, “fixing” in the penultimate round to guarantee a direct promotion to service and 25th place in the Portuguese football elite.
Farense maintained their unbeaten record at home, adding 12 wins and four draws in 16 games at the San Luis Stadium, a stadium that celebrates its centenary in 2023 and will mark the final match against Tondela.
In the 2020/2021 season, the Algarve team returned to Liga I after 18 years of absence, but were promoted to the second tier at the end of that season, finishing 17th and penultimate.
In other competitions, with Vasco Faisca still on the bench, Farense was eliminated from the Portuguese Cup by the Leishões in the fourth round and fell in the League Cup group stage with a win and two losses.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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