Rochemback rues missed chance

Brazilian midfield player Fábio Rochemback missed a penalty as Sporting Clube de Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw at home by FC Porto in the top-of-the-table meeting in the Portuguese Superliga.

Chance spurned
Defender Jorge Costa gave the visitors the lead as early as the eighth minute at the José Alvalade stadium on Saturday. Rochemback, the former FC Barcelona player who has impressed since his move to Lisbon, spurned the chance to equalise from the spot just past the half-hour mark.

Barbosa leveller
Parity was restored in the 69th minute when Pedro Barbosa relieved Rochemback of his penalty-taking duties and stepped up to the spot to tuck the ball away. Porto remain five points ahead of their closest rivals at the top of the standings.

Paços thriller
FC Paços de Ferreira eventually overcame Gil Vicente FC 3-2 in the pick of Sunday’s games. José Manuel scored in either half and Gustavo Manduca was also on target in a match in which Pinheiro and Yuri collected the goals for the visitors before the interval.

Adriano decisive
Adriano’s 22nd-minute goal was enough to secure a 1-0 away victory against CF Estrela da Amadora, Valente and Evandro steered Rio Ave FC to a 2-1 defeat of CS Marítimo while UD Leiria and CF Os Belenenses drew 1-1. Vitória SC and Boavista FC also drew 1-1 in Sunday's late game, while SC Beira-Mar claimed fourth place on Monday by winning 2-1 at Alverca Futebol SAD thanks tio Sandro Silva's injury-time winner.

Friday game
On Friday, SC Braga fought out another 1-1 draw against Moreirense FC. Paulo Jorge gave the visitors the lead before the break but Paulo Sérgio equalised in the second half. SL Benfica, in their first match since the death of Miklós Fehér, complete the programme of fixtures against AA Coimbra on Tuesday.