Injury hit Porto beat Rio Ave 1-0 to make it make it ten straight wins
An injury hit Porto labored to a 1-0 victory against Rio Ave in a close clash at Estádio do Dragão.
Toni Martínez converted Wendell’s cross in the 44th minute but the Dragons were unable to kill the game off.
Rio Ave had a great chance to steal a point in added time, Emmanuel Boateng heading wide with the goal at his mercy.
Sérgio Conceição will be hoping to get some of his stars back before a tough trip to Italy. Porto side face Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg on Wednesday.
Slow start for the Dragons
The match followed a predictable pattern with Porto monopolising the ball, but they were unable to make any meaningful combinations in the attacking third.
Rio Ave got into the game and put the ball in the net in the 22nd minute. André Pereira converted after Emmanuel Boateng headed against the post, the goal disallowed after Boateng was ruled offside.
The Vilacondenses maintained the pressure, Andreas Samaris’ free kick forcing a save from Diogo Costa with the shot stopper called into action again to save Guga’s dipping shot from distance.
Porto come alive
Porto finally fired a shot in anger in the 35th minute when Stephen Eustáquio’s effort was blocked. Toni Martínez then blasted over the bar with Mehdi Taremi screaming for the ball.
The Dragons maintained the pressure and were rewarded on the stroke of half time. Wendell’s cross went through Taremi, Martínez in prime position to steer the ball past Jhonatan for his 10th goal of the season.
The chances kept coming for Martínez after the break when he headed Eustáquio’s corner over the bar.
Boateng can't convert
Rio Ave had a great chance to equalise in the 58th minute. João Graça sent Boateng through a huge hole in Porto’s defence, but he couldn’t speed away and dragged his shot into the side netting under pressure from Pepe and João Mário.
Luís Freire made two changes in the 69th minute when Miguel Baeza and Leonardo Ruiz replaced Graça and Pereira. Sérgio Conceição replied by bringing on Zaidu Sanusi and Gonçalo Borges for Wendell and Taremi.
Ruiz couldn’t get enough power on his header after Diogo Costa spilled the ball, Freire emptying his bench with Savio, Paulo Vitor and Hernâni introduced for Josué Sá, Costinha and Samaris.
The injury depleted Dragons suffered another blow when Martínez went down and was replaced by Danny Namaso, André Franco making way for Bernardo Folha.
Porto were becoming increasingly unhappy with referee Vitor Ferreira, sporting director Luís Gonçalves stepping up the abuse and taking a red card for his team.
Exciting end
Namaso missed a great chance to seal the deal after Pepê Aquino went past four opponents, Grujic then volleying a difficult chance straight at Jhonatan.
Rio Ave had their best chance of the match deep in added time when Sanusi lost possession, Hernâni’s cross picking out Boateng who headed wide with the goal at his mercy.
Tribute for Christian Atsu
The players and crowd paid a tribute to Christian Atsu before kickoff, the former Porto and Rio Ave player killed in the Turkish earthquake.
Ten straight before a tough test in Italy
Sérgio Conceição forecasted a difficult match and so it proved withthe Porto manager missing Fábio Cardoso, Mateus Uribe, Otávio, Galeno, Gabriel Veron and Evanilson.
André Franco made a third consecutive start with Vasco Sousa & Fernando Andrade on the bench.
The Dragons breathed a sigh of relief when Boateng headed wide in added time, securing their tenth consecutive victory with two of them against Sporting Clube do Portugal and eight of them coming with a clean sheet.
Losing Mateus Uribe, Otávio and Galeno before their important Champions League clash against Inter Milan is obviously not ideal. Conceição will hope some of his first choice starters can recover for the important game in Italy.
Sérgio Conceição takes a shot at the schedule
Sérgio Conceição discussed the injuries suffered by his players before the match, blaming the hectic schedule as one of the reasons why.
“The calendar was completely dense before and after the World Cup. We played 10 games in a month. It's not just the games, it's been proven that four days or less to recover increases the risk of injury six times.
“We had the Taça da Liga in the middle and one or two matches with 72 hours of recovery. More and more operators who have the television rights want more quality games, and we have to travel around in a rush”.
By Matthew Marshall at Estádio do Dragão