League Play-Off

São Januária
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Victor Pirani took the kick off in the first half of the match. After 3 played minutes Itirucu got a freekick which was hit by José Maria Mattos. If Victor Pirani had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 11th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Erasmo Borges showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Victor Pirani in the 19th minute of the match. José Augusto Lima struck a weak shot in the 21st minute. Alex Braga didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Itirucu. In the 24th minute, José Augusto Lima 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. A collision led to Itirucu getting a freekick after 25 minutes play. Agenor Meirelles hit a great ball. After 26 played minutes Itirucu got a freekick which was hit by José Maria Mattos. Victor Pirani fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 32nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Erasmo Borges having to interfere. José Augusto Lima received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 36th minute. Alex Braga tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 41st minute, Décio Valadares managed to get in a good position for a shot. Itirucu's supporters rose to their feet, but Décio Valadares was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Alex Braga breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Aílton Catarinense sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Erasmo Borges showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Benê Viana in the 46th minute of the match. The score stood at 0-0 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell José Augusto Lima to make the kick off. José Augusto Lima fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 52nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Alex Braga having to interfere. In the 54th minute Décio Valadares shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Alex Braga saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 59th minute, Manfredo Veiga hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Marcelinho Varela had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 69th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Victor Pirani fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 71st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Erasmo Borges having to interfere. Itirucu's José Maria Mattos managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Cristóvão Linares in the 76 minute of the game. In the 77th minute, Abelardo Vaz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. José Augusto Lima fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 82nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Alex Braga having to interfere. Décio Valadares sent away a hard shot on goal in the 83rd minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Aílton Catarinense received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 85th minute. Alex Braga tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 86th minute, Agenor Meirelles managed to get in a good position for a shot. Itirucu's supporters rose to their feet, but Agenor Meirelles was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Alex Braga breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After 89 minutes of play, Vasco da Gama's Victor Pirani made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Erasmo Borges was left in no man's land by his defense there! When Décio Valadares came up free with the goalie in the 93rd minute, the Itirucu 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 Décio Valadares couldn't finish the play. Itirucu's Aílton Catarinense got a good chance for a goal in the 96th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. When the referee blew the final whistle, Vasco da Gama could leave the field as winners, despite Itirucu having more of the ball for most of the match.