Thirty minutes worth for a whole season. Tondela was playing for survival in the last round against the direct competitors Chaves, and were 4-0 up in just half-hour in a clear showing of the players will to stay up.
The other 33 games were a mix of great achievements and hard sequences of negative results. The team had enough talent to hold a similar season to the previous one, but this time there was more inconsistence in the performances.
The biggest problems came at the back where the gifted Cláudio Ramos was not always able to compensate the weaknesses of the defenders. Veteran Ricardo Costa was more times a liability than the source of stability at the back.
The departure of Hélder Tavares in midfield was never completely solved, despite the signing of João Pedro (miles away from the level showed at Guimarães) and some decent games Jaquité and Tembeng.
The attack was always the best area, and Pepa realized it a bit late when he opted for a less conservative approach in the middle of the season. Xavier, Murillo and Delgado are amongst the most technical players of the league.
Tomané had very impressive season in both in goal scoring, assists and general work with and off the ball. Beirões will have a hard time to keep him on the side for next season.
In fact, Tondela is expected to face a difficult season, Tomané should have some company on the departures zone, Ricardo Costa hardly will keep up with top flight demands and João Pedro is going back to parent club.
