League Play-Off

Estádio Rubiacea
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Willian Mattos started the match with the kick off. Cristian Freitas showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Willian Mattos, who was totally free with the ball in the 4th minute. If Almir Hoffmann had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 5th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Zé Mendes's late challenge caught a Manuelzinho EC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Zé Mendes helped the player get up and apologised. Zé Mendes kicked well hit freekick during the 9th minute of the match. Rubiacea's Cristian Freitas played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Willian Mattos in the 10th minute of play. If Willian Mattos had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 11th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Marcelinho Fonseca could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 13th minute of the match, but Dagoberto Fonseca made a huge save. An unexpected shot in the 17th minute by Marcelinho Fonseca got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. Willian Mattos received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 19th minute. Cristian Freitas tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 20 played minutes Rubiacea got a freekick which was hit by Inácio Paraíba. Willian Mattos struck a weak shot in the 22nd minute. Cristian Freitas didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Manuelzinho EC. After 24 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Manuelzinho EC! Rubiacea's Cristian Freitas played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Willian Mattos in the 33rd minute of play. Fellipe Prado received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 35th minute. Cristian Freitas tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Willian Mattos sent away a hard shot on goal in the 37th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Donatello Cordeiro sent away a hard shot on goal in the 46th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Donatello Cordeiro to make the kick off. 54 minutes into the match, Donatello Cordeiro had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Dagoberto Fonseca. Manuelzinho EC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Donatello Cordeiro was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-0. Marcelinho Fonseca struck a weak shot in the 61st minute. Dagoberto Fonseca didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Rubiacea. In the 63rd minute the ball was on its way in behind Manuelzinho EC's goalkeeper Dagoberto Fonseca, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After having played for 73 minutes, Marcelinho Fonseca managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Rubiacea's supporters crossed their fingers, but Marcelinho Fonseca was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After a defensive mix-up in Manuelzinho EC's zone, Donatello Cordeiro stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Dagoberto Fonseca came out of the goal and Donatello Cordeiro tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The audience was convinced that Marcelinho Fonseca's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dagoberto Fonseca was relentless in the 75th minute of the game. Donatello Cordeiro received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 78th minute. Dagoberto Fonseca tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Dagoberto Fonseca made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Donatello Cordeiro in the 84th minute of play. In the 91st minute, Willian Mattos fired away a killer shot towards the goal that, to the delight of Cristian Freitas, passed just outside the right post. 96 minutes into the game, Marcelinho Fonseca cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 3-0. Dagoberto Fonseca was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Rubiacea fans cheered their team off the field, for while Manuelzinho EC had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.