League

Gigante da Beira Rio
Spectators: 7528 (Terracing: 5647, Seating: 1731, VIP seats: 150) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when José Augusto Braga got the match started through his kick off. Sport Club Niquito's Alfredo Maia played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by José Augusto Braga in the 3rd minute of play. Fred Arruda hit a great freekick 3 minutes into the match. Alfredo Maia showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from José Augusto Braga, who was totally free with the ball in the 6th minute. José Augusto Braga struck a weak shot in the 13th minute. Alfredo Maia didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Gororos. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Célio Mazza during the 14th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Célio Mazza hit a great freekick 14 minutes into the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Giovanni Pontes in the 16th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Ernesto Dracena saved Gororos from getting behind. After 21 minutes of play, Gororos's Haroldo Loureiro made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Alfredo Maia was left in no man's land by his defense there! Ernesto Dracena stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Giovanni Pontes's shot from short distance in the 25th minute. 26 minutes into the game, Olívio Sena was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Sport Club Niquito's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Gororos the free kick. In the 26th minute, Olívio Sena hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 29 minutes of play, Sport Club Niquito's Giovanni Pontes made it 1-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Ernesto Dracena was left in no man's land by his defense there! The audience was convinced that Haroldo Loureiro's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Alfredo Maia was relentless in the 33rd minute of the game. Alfredo Maia showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from José Augusto Braga, who was totally free with the ball in the 35th minute. After some careless play in the Sport Club Niquito defense, Haroldo Loureiro kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Alfredo Maia. The Sport Club Niquito fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Alfredo Maia should have stopped the shot. Haroldo Loureiro's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Alfredo Maia read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 40th minute of play. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 1-3.

If Eduardo Melo had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 53rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. José Augusto Braga blasted a shot towards the goal in the 55th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Alfredo Maia having to make a save. Haroldo Loureiro received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 63rd minute. Alfredo Maia tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Haroldo Loureiro could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 66th minute of the match, but Alfredo Maia made a huge save. 69 minutes into the match, Gororos's José Augusto Braga sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Alfredo Maia narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Alfredo Maia showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from José Augusto Braga in the 72nd minute of the match. If José Augusto Braga had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 73rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 78 minutes, Horácio Moraes mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Gororos and the Sport Club Niquito players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Gororos getting a freekick after 78 minutes play. Horácio Moraes hit a great ball. Ricardinho Couto kicked well hit freekick during the 80th minute of the match. Haroldo Loureiro fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 81st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Alfredo Maia having to interfere. Alfredo Maia showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from José Augusto Braga in the 86th minute of the match. Sport Club Niquito's Alfredo Maia played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by José Augusto Braga in the 90th minute of play. Alfredo Maia made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from José Augusto Braga in the 93rd minute of play. Ernesto Dracena took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Giovanni Pontes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Gororos's Ernesto Dracena played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Giovanni Pontes in the 98th minute of play. When the match was over Gororos could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Sport Club Niquito throughout the match.