League Play-Off

Estádio Marumbe
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Almir Ferreira got the match started through his kick off. After 4 minutes of play, Salsas's Almir Ferreira made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Zézinho Xavier was left in no man's land by his defense there! The audience was convinced that Almir Ferreira's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Zézinho Xavier was relentless in the 7th minute of the game. Ernesto Tavares received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 9th minute. Zézinho Xavier tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Marumbe EC's Kléberson Mumbach got a good chance for a goal in the 17th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 21st minute, Almir Ferreira ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Zézinho Xavier was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-2. Zézinho Xavier showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ernesto Tavares in the 24th minute of the match. In the 26th minute the ball was on its way in behind Marumbe EC's goalkeeper Zézinho Xavier, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. When Oscar Souto fell near the penalty area in the 30th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Marumbe EC's protests and gave Oscar Souto a yellow card for diving instead. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Ernesto Tavares in the 32nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Zézinho Xavier saved Marumbe EC from getting behind. After 33 minutes, Roger do Valle mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Salsas and the Marumbe EC players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 33 played minutes Salsas got a freekick which was hit by Roger do Valle. The long shot by Oséas Vinhas in the 34th minute really tested Chicão Coelho's skills. The ball was on its way into the goal to the left of him when he managed to stretch himself and save the shot and avoid a goal. Zézinho Xavier showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Almir Ferreira in the 36th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Marumbe EC's Oscar Souto got a free kick in the 39th minute. After having played for 40 minutes, Ernesto Tavares managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Salsas's supporters crossed their fingers, but Ernesto Tavares was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Almir Ferreira in the 44th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Zézinho Xavier saved Marumbe EC from getting behind. In the 45th minute the ball was on its way in behind Marumbe EC's goalkeeper Zézinho Xavier, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Ernesto Tavares fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 46th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Zézinho Xavier having to interfere. The Marumbe EC players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Salsas were winning 0-2.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Gilmar Lopes to strike the kick off in the second half. After a defensive mix-up in Marumbe EC's zone, Almir Ferreira stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Zézinho Xavier came out of the goal and Almir Ferreira tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Almir Ferreira in the 55th minute of play forced Marumbe EC's goalkeeper Zézinho Xavier to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Ernesto Tavares came up free with the goalie in the 58th minute, the Salsas fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Ernesto Tavares couldn't finish the play. Zacarias Quintal received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 62nd minute. Zézinho Xavier tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. A collision led to Marumbe EC getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Washington Saldanha hit a great ball. Almir Ferreira fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 64th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Zézinho Xavier having to interfere. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Washington Saldanha during the 68th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Washington Saldanha kicked well hit freekick during the 68th minute of the match. 69 minutes into the match, Almir Ferreira had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Zézinho Xavier. Marumbe EC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Almir Ferreira was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-3. Célio Negri got a fine position in front of goal ttaking advantage of the opportunity to rumble in 0-4 in the right cross in the 75th match minute before Zézinho Xavier had time to react. Almir Ferreira sent away a hard shot on goal in the 80th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Roger do Valle could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 83rd minute of the match, but Zézinho Xavier made a huge save. Ernesto Tavares might have been able to make a better finish in the 86th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Zézinho Xavier. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Ernesto Tavares ran back to his position shaking his head. Almir Ferreira got in the 86th a clear chance and fired away a hard shot against goal, but Zézinho Xavier handled the situation perfectly and made a save by the crossbar. Gilmar Lopes received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 88th minute. Chicão Coelho tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 89th match minute, Salsas was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Zacarias Quintal to maneuver through the defense. Zacarias Quintal kicked well hit freekick during the 93rd minute of the match. Salsas's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.