Portugal round-up: Porto halfway there

The Portuguese Super Liga season has reached the halfway stage with FC Porto eleven points clear at the top of the table. Porto underlined their position of strength with a 14th win of the season on Saturday night, 1-0 away to last season's double winners, Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Costinha winner
Portuguese international midfield player Costinha scored the only goal after just three minutes. The former AS Monaco FC man struck at the far post with an acrobatic volley and only the excellence of Tiago in the Sporting goal prevented José Mourinho's side from extending their lead. Brazilian striker Mário Jardel, a second-half substitute, missed Sporting's only chance of note.

Benfica held
Porto now have 45 points from 17 matches, with SL Benfica on 34 points in second place and Sporting third with 33 points. The gap widened at the top following Benfica's 1-1 draw at Vitória Guimarães on the same night.

Zahovic equaliser
The Lisbon club fought back to claim a point through a Zlatko Zahovic goal after Guimarães right-back Adriano Bessa had put the home side ahead in the second half. The match was marred by an incident where Guimarães substitute Marcinho and the club's fitness trainer, Jorge Ramiro, were hurt by a flare thrown from the Benfica end.

Jorge undefeated
Three matches into his reign at Associação Académica de Coimbra and Artur Jorge has yet to taste defeat. A far-post finish from Mozambican striker Dário earned Académica a 1-1 draw at SC Braga, who had led through Pedro Roma's free-kick.

Gil Vicente win
Sixth-positioned Gil Vicente FC defeated mid-table UD Leiria 3-1, thanks to two goals from veteran striker Paulo Alves, while Brazilian forward Gaúcho also struck twice as CS Marítimo beat SC Beira-Mar 3-0. Elsewhere, Paços de Ferreira and FC Moreirense drew 1-1, while it finished goalless between Varzim SC and CD Santa Clara, Boavista FC and CD Nacional, and CF Belenenses and Vitória FC Setúbal.