League

St Andrews Stadium
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when João Pedro Pernambucano kicked off to start the match. Frank Valladares showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alfredinho Pitta in the 4th minute of the match. In the 6th minute, Alfredinho Pitta 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. Frank Valladares stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Alfredinho Pitta's shot from short distance in the 8th minute. It seemed to be an obvious goal in the 16th minute, but Frank Valladares got his fingers on the ball or the save, leaving Grêmio dos Canudos EC hanging dry this time. João Pedro Pernambucano sent away a hard shot on goal in the 19th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Alfredinho Pitta fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 24th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Frank Valladares having to interfere. Alfredinho Pitta received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 28th minute. Frank Valladares tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Rony Cardoso could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 30th minute of the match, but Frank Valladares made a huge save. The audience thought a goal was coming when Rony Cardoso got free with Frank Valladares in the 32nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 35th minute Alfredinho Pitta shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Frank Valladares saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Frank Valladares took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Alfredinho Pitta, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Alfredinho Pitta sent away a hard shot on goal in the 41st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 45 minutes, João Pedro Pernambucano mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Grêmio dos Canudos EC and the BIRMINGHAM players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 46th minute, João Pedro Pernambucano hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. When Alfredinho Pitta came up free with the goalie in the 47th minute, the BIRMINGHAM 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 Alfredinho Pitta couldn't finish the play. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 1-0 at half-time.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Alfredinho Pitta stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Rony Cardoso fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 51st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Frank Valladares having to interfere. Perivaldo Aparecido made a fantastic save in the 56th minute, when Waldemar Motta sent off a good shot on target. In the 58thth minute of the game Alfredinho Pitta who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Grêmio dos Canudos EC's Frank Valladares was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Frank Valladares came out of the goal in the 59th minute to try and stop a shot by BIRMINGHAM's Rony Cardoso. But to his dismay, Rony Cardoso quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-0. In the 66th minute João Pedro Pernambucano shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Perivaldo Aparecido saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Dênis Pires kicked well hit freekick during the 75th minute of the match. Frank Valladares made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alfredinho Pitta in the 76th minute of play. Rony Cardoso sent away a hard shot on goal in the 77th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Nelson Reis charged in rather forcefully in the 78th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Nelson Reis the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Nelson Reis kicked well hit freekick during the 79th minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Alfredinho Pitta in the 82nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Frank Valladares saved Grêmio dos Canudos EC from getting behind. Dênis Pires charged in rather forcefully in the 84th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Dênis Pires the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Dênis Pires kicked well hit freekick during the 84th minute of the match. 89 minutes into the match, Grêmio dos Canudos EC's goal looked a bit too open when Alfredinho Pitta came free, but Frank Valladares reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Alfredinho Pitta received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 91st minute. Frank Valladares tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 95 played minutes Grêmio dos Canudos EC got a freekick which was hit by Dênis Pires. In the 98th minute of the match BIRMINGHAM got a corner. Grêmio dos Canudos EC's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Sílvio Luís Ramos ran over to the corner to take the kick. BIRMINGHAM's supporters were delighted with their team's performance and swarmed onto the pitch at the end of the match to celebrate the victory with the players.