League Play-Off

Estádio Pituba
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Arnaldo Lago got the match started through his kick off. Arnaldo Lago sent away a hard shot on goal in the 6th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Pituba's Gilberto Prestes got a free kick in the 10th minute. Hílton Cosme received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 18th minute. Haroldo Pinheiro tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If José Paulo Leão had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 22nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 23 minutes into the match, Pituba's goal looked a bit too open when Marco Mello came free, but Raúl Ribeiro reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Marco Mello sent away a hard shot on goal in the 25th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 28 minutes into the match, Hílton Cosme had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Haroldo Pinheiro. Marreca's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Hílton Cosme was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-0. Marco Mello received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 32nd minute. Raúl Ribeiro tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Marco Mello recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 34th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. After having played for 39 minutes, José Paulo Leão managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Marreca's supporters crossed their fingers, but José Paulo Leão was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Raúl Ribeiro made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Marco Mello in the 43rd minute of play. Raúl Ribeiro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from José Paulo Leão, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Raúl Ribeiro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Marco Mello, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Valdemar Paraibano hit a great freekick 47 minutes into the match. Arnaldo Lago sent away a hard shot on goal in the 49th 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 Marco Mello to make the kick off. When Arnaldo Lago came up free with the goalie in the 53rd minute, the Pituba 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 Arnaldo Lago couldn't finish the play. When Hílton Cosme came up free with the goalie in the 55th minute, the Pituba 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 Hílton Cosme couldn't finish the play. José Paulo Leão sent away a hard shot on goal in the 58th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Marco Mello fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 65th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Raúl Ribeiro having to interfere. Raúl Ribeiro made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Marco Mello in the 72nd minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hílton Cosme in the 73rd minute of play forced Marreca's goalkeeper Haroldo Pinheiro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. José Paulo Leão hit a great freekick 76 minutes into the match. If Arnaldo Lago had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 78th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Hílton Cosme sent away a hard shot on goal in the 80th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a defensive mix-up in Pituba's zone, Marco Mello stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Raúl Ribeiro came out of the goal and Marco Mello tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 88th minute, Arnaldo Lago 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. 91 minutes into the game, Faustão Machado was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Marreca's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Pituba the free kick. Pituba's Arnaldo Lago got a good chance for a goal in the 92nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Haroldo Pinheiro showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rogério Maciel in the 95th minute of the match.