League Play-Off

Cristina
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) Tostão Godoi made the kick off and thus started the match. In the 7th minute of the match Guilherme Coutinho sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Valdir Saraiva skillfully saved the ball. Emanuel Santana received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 8th minute. Valdir Saraiva tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 1-0 became the score in the 10th minute when Dorival Gomes elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Dorival Gomes in the 13th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Valdir Saraiva prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Tostão Godoi received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 17th minute. Igor de Brito tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Dorival Gomes during the 21st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to Cristina EC getting a freekick after 21 minutes play. Dorival Gomes hit a great ball. Gualter Pombal recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 23rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Emanuel Santana's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 29thth minute, Valdir Saraiva skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. After a defensive mix-up in Ceará Sporting Clube's zone, Paulo José Marinho stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Valdir Saraiva came out of the goal and Paulo José Marinho tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 2-0.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Dorival Gomes was the one to do the kick off. Gualter Pombal took the ball and in the 51 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Igor de Brito. Igor de Brito dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 2-1. Emanuel Santana's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Valdir Saraiva read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 61st minute of play. A collision led to Ceará Sporting Clube getting a freekick after 61 minutes play. Edu Soeiro hit a great ball. Dorival Gomes blasted a shot towards the goal in the 63rd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Valdir Saraiva having to make a save. Valdir Saraiva showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Emanuel Santana in the 64th minute of the match. Edu Soeiro charged in rather forcefully in the 65th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Edu Soeiro the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. When Dorival Gomes came up free with the goalie in the 66th minute, the Cristina EC 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 Dorival Gomes couldn't finish the play. In the 68th minute of the match Guilherme Coutinho shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Valdir Saraiva showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. If Dorival Gomes had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 70th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ceará Sporting Clube's Valdir Saraiva played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Emanuel Santana in the 72nd minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Cristina EC's zone, Gualter Pombal stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Igor de Brito came out of the goal and Gualter Pombal tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Mauro Reis's late challenge caught a Cristina EC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Mauro Reis helped the player get up and apologised. Mauro Reis hit a great freekick 80 minutes into the match. After 81 played minutes, Cristina EC's Nelson de Mendonça shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Valdir Saraiva came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Cristina EC reached it. The audience was convinced that Dorival Gomes's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Valdir Saraiva was relentless in the 83rd minute of the game. Valdir Saraiva took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dorival Gomes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Tostão Godoi recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 87th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. 90 minutes into the game, Dorival Gomes cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 3-1. Valdir Saraiva was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 97th minute Dorival Gomes shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Valdir Saraiva saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ceará Sporting Clube's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.