League Play-Off

Orlando Scarpelli
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Gennadiy Vorontsov started the match with the kick off. An unexpected shot in the 3rd minute by Gennadiy Vorontsov got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. Antônio Mello made an important save on a dangerous shot by Gennadiy Vorontsov in the 5th minute. Figueirense F. C.'s Luís Fernando de Mendonça played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ian Medeiros in the 6th minute of play. Tiago Gabriel Linares charged in rather forcefully in the 8th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Tiago Gabriel Linares the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. 10 minutes into the match, Ian Medeiros had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Luís Fernando de Mendonça. Figueirense F. C.'s manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Ian Medeiros was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. Ian Gerber received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 13th minute. Antônio Mello tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Luís Fernando de Mendonça made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ian Medeiros in the 17th minute of play. 20 minutes into the match, Dorival Fontes notched a goal, 0-2, to the right of Figueirense F. C.'s Luís Fernando de Mendonça. Luís Fernando de Mendonça was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Luís Fernando de Mendonça showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Percy Cabral, who was totally free with the ball in the 22nd minute. 27 minutes into the match, Figueirense F. C.'s Gennadiy Vorontsov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Antônio Mello narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Beto Pontes hit a great freekick 29 minutes into the match. 30 minutes into the match, Mandim SC's Luís Fábio Veiga broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. Gennadiy Vorontsov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 33rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Figueirense F. C.'s Luís Fernando de Mendonça played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ian Medeiros in the 38th minute of play. Gennadiy Vorontsov could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 44th minute of the match, but Antônio Mello made a huge save. After a rather tough play, Mandim SC's Ramón Cunha got a free kick in the 45th minute. When Dorival Fontes came up free with the goalie in the 47th minute, the Mandim SC 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 Fontes couldn't finish the play. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 1-2 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Percy Cabral to make the kick off. When the match had gone on for 52 minutes, Dorival Fontes took a quick shot and it went in 1-3 without a chance for Luís Fernando de Mendonça to make any attempt to save it. Figueirense F. C.'s Luís Fernando de Mendonça played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Percy Cabral in the 57th minute of play. 60 minutes into the game, Figueirense F. C.'s Ian Gerber nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Antônio Mello made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-3. Luís Fernando de Mendonça showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Percy Cabral, who was totally free with the ball in the 65th minute. Luís Fernando de Mendonça made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dorival Fontes in the 72nd minute of play. In the 76th minute Gennadiy Vorontsov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Antônio Mello saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 79th minute Ian Gerber shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Antônio Mello saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Gennadiy Vorontsov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 83rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Gennadiy Vorontsov in the 85th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Antônio Mello prevented the ball from getting in the gole. 88 minutes into the match, Mandim SC's goal looked a bit too open when Gennadiy Vorontsov came free, but Antônio Mello reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 88 minutes into the game, Ramón Cunha was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Mandim SC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Figueirense F. C. the free kick. After a rather tough play, Mandim SC's Ramón Cunha got a free kick in the 88th minute. Luís Fernando de Mendonça showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Percy Cabral, who was totally free with the ball in the 93rd minute. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Mandim SC eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.