League

Estádio Meriti
Spectators: 6673 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1673, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Gilberto Meirelles got the match started through his kick off. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Alex da Rocha in the 3rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Frank Costa prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After having played for 9 minutes, Alex da Rocha managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Ji-Parana F.C's supporters crossed their fingers, but Alex da Rocha was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. A collision led to Meriti SS getting a freekick after 18 minutes play. César Braga hit a great ball. The audience was convinced that Jeremias Jacinto's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Frank Costa was relentless in the 19th minute of the game. Alex da Rocha fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 21st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Frank Costa having to interfere. 23 minutes into the game, Jeremias Jacinto cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Frank Costa was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After some fancy dribbling in the 26th minute, Alex da Rocha managed to get in a good position for a shot. Ji-Parana F.C's supporters rose to their feet, but Alex da Rocha was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Frank Costa breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After 33 minutes, Emerson Alves mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Ji-Parana F.C and the Meriti SS players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 33rd minute, Emerson Alves hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 38th minute the ball was on its way in behind Meriti SS's goalkeeper Frank Costa, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Ji-Parana F.C's Alex da Rocha got a good chance for a goal in the 42nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Jeremias Jacinto stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. 53 minutes into the match, César Braga had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Celso Aguiar. Ji-Parana F.C's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that César Braga was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-2. Meriti SS's Frank Costa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Jeremias Jacinto in the 57th minute of play. After having played for 61 minutes, Alex da Rocha managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Ji-Parana F.C's supporters crossed their fingers, but Alex da Rocha was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. If Jeremias Jacinto had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 63rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 64th minute, Cristóvão de Moraes hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Alex da Rocha sent away a hard shot on goal in the 65th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 67 played minutes Meriti SS got a freekick which was hit by Cristóvão de Moraes. With his leg Frank Costa managed to avoid a goal in the 74thth minute, when Ji-Parana F.C's Alex da Rocha fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. Frank Costa stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Jeremias Jacinto's shot from short distance in the 80th minute. Custódio Santana hit a great freekick 82 minutes into the match. Frank Costa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jeremias Jacinto in the 90th minute of play. Frank Costa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Jeremias Jacinto, who was totally free with the ball in the 91st minute. The Ji-Parana F.C supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Ji-Parana F.C would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.