Portimonense took the game to new league leaders Belenenses and looked every bit as good as their opponents until the 55th-minute introduction of Arsenio.
The speedy winger tipped the battle for midfield supremacy in the Lisbonites’ favour and set up Fernando Ferreira for the only goal of the match shortly afterwards.
Any chance the Algarveans may have had to recover from the setback was effectively ended by the subsequent dismissal of Fábio Felicio which was followed by two further red cards for Portimão’s Chico and Belenenses scorer Ferreira as the game approached injury time.
The latest reversal leaves Lázaro Oliveira’s men in mid-table on 12 points ahead of their next home appearance against União da Madeira next weekend. Before then the team will travel to top division Rio Ave for this Sunday afternoon’s FA Cup second round clash.
