League Play-Off

Estádio Itoupava
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) Júnior Mesquita started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. Paulinho Alves had great luck who in the 7thth minute grab hold of the ball when Mazinho Neto from a short distance tried to put the ball inside the right post. Paulinho Alves was a little too slow when Mazinho Neto got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 11th minute. The score was now 1-0. When Vasco da Gama's Mazinho Neto in the 19th minute got a chance for a shot 19th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Pumpkins's goalie prevented a goal. Inácio Paranaense charged in rather forcefully in the 21st minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Inácio Paranaense the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Inácio Paranaense kicked well hit freekick during the 21st minute of the match. Andrézinho Mendes took the ball and in the 24 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Paulinho Alves. Paulinho Alves dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 3-0. 28 minutes into the match, Pumpkins's goalkeeper Paulinho Alves had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Wiliam Antunes. Paulinho Alves took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Mazinho Neto, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 32nd minute, Wiliam Antunes ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Paulinho Alves was frozen by the shot and now it was 4-0. It was beautiful to see Pumpkins's Sérgio Valadares in action when he in the 36th minute dribbled his way through a couple of opponents and the fired away a shot from almost standing still. First the ball seemed to get in, but turned out to be on the outside of the net. A great chance! Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Mazinho Neto in the 38th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Paulinho Alves prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Paulinho Alves took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Mazinho Neto, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Andrézinho Mendes fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 41st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Paulinho Alves having to interfere. Mazinho Neto 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. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 4-0.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Andrézinho Mendes stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 56th minute the ball was on its way in behind Pumpkins's goalkeeper Paulinho Alves, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Paulinho Alves showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Andrézinho Mendes in the 59th minute of the match. If Andrézinho Mendes had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 61st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 66 minutes into the game, Júnior Mesquita was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Pumpkins's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Vasco da Gama the free kick. Júnior Mesquita hit a great freekick 66 minutes into the match. Vasco da Gama's Wiliam Antunes got a good chance for a goal in the 67th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Mazinho Neto in the 69th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Paulinho Alves prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Paulinho Alves stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Andrézinho Mendes's shot from short distance in the 70th minute. Andrézinho Mendes received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 73rd minute. Paulinho Alves tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When the match clock showed 82 minutes, the score became 5-0 when Mazinho Neto sped through Pumpkins's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Paulinho Alves. In the 90th minute Mazinho Neto shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Paulinho Alves saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Júnior Mesquita was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 92 minutes into the match. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 92nd minute of the game. One of Pumpkins:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Vasco da Gama:s goal. When the match clock showed 97 minutes, the score became 8-0 when Mazinho Neto sped through Pumpkins's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Paulinho Alves. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Vasco da Gama fans cheered their team off the field, for while Pumpkins had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.