League

Arena Betim
Spectators: 7194 (Terracing: 5397, Seating: 1654, VIP seats: 143) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Válbson Saldanha kicked off to start the match. Válbson Saldanha could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 10th minute of the match, but Edvaldo Vargas made a huge save. Válbson Saldanha came free with the goalkeeper in the 12th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Edvaldo Vargas could save by the left post. Cássio Rossi showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Abel Hoffmann in the 14th minute of the match. Abel Hoffmann scored 0-1 in the 16th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Cássio Rossi, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Válbson Saldanha sent away a hard shot on goal in the 20th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 22nd minute, Cucui's Joaquim Gomes seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Joaquim Gomes the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Cucui protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Joaquim Gomes had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 21st minute of the game. One of Cucui:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Betim MZC:s goal. Fábio Hoffmann kicked well hit freekick during the 26th minute of the match. Edvaldo Vargas made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Zé Paulo Porto in the 27th minute of play. Edvaldo Vargas made an important save on a dangerous shot by Válbson Saldanha in the 28th minute. After 34 played minutes Cucui got a freekick which was hit by Alexandre Siqueira. When Válbson Saldanha came up free with the goalie in the 37th minute, the Betim MZC 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 Válbson Saldanha couldn't finish the play. Válbson Saldanha could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 43rd minute of the match, but Edvaldo Vargas made a huge save. In the 44th minute, Válbson Saldanha got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Cucui's Edvaldo Vargas played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Edgard Simões in the 48th minute of play. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Abel Hoffmann made a kick off. Edvaldo Vargas came out of the goal in the 55th minute to try and stop a shot by Betim MZC's Bebeto Barros. But to his dismay, Bebeto Barros quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-1. Edvaldo Vargas took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Válbson Saldanha, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 61 minutes had been played when some careless play by Cucui's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Zé Paulo Porto was slow to take the kick. During this time Betim MZC's players had a chance to rest. Válbson Saldanha sent away a hard shot on goal in the 69th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Washington Queiroz's late challenge caught a Betim MZC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Washington Queiroz helped the player get up and apologised. Washington Queiroz hit a great freekick 73 minutes into the match. Abel Hoffmann kicked well hit freekick during the 78th minute of the match. Válbson Saldanha sent away a hard shot on goal in the 85th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Betim MZC's Válbson Saldanha got a good chance for a goal in the 89th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Válbson Saldanha recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 91st minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 92nd minute, Ademar de Lara hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 93rdth minute of the game Edgard Simões who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Cucui's Edvaldo Vargas was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Edvaldo Vargas took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Válbson Saldanha, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 96th minute, Bruno Mandrak left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Cucui fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-2. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Betim MZC fully deserved thier win.