League Play-Off

Estádio Xapeco
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. Nelson Moraes started the match with the kick off. André Pinheiro made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Duarte Pena in the 6th minute of play. 12 minutes into the match, Itaquarai SS's goalkeeper André Pinheiro had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Duarte Pena. Duarte Pena fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 13th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without André Pinheiro having to interfere. Duarte Pena sent away a hard shot on goal in the 15th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Betinho de Lara hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. Itaquarai SS's defense didn't have a chance, in the 25th minute, when Duarte Pena scored to the left of an out of position André Pinheiro, making the score, 2-0. After having played for 29 minutes, Geraldo de Carvalho managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Xapeco EC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Geraldo de Carvalho was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After 31 minutes, Sílvio Couto mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Itaquarai SS and the Xapeco EC players grew even worse after the yellow card. Sílvio Couto hit a great freekick 31 minutes into the match. If Ricardo de Senna had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 34th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Venelin Kotzakov struck a weak shot in the 36th minute. André Pinheiro didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Xapeco EC. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ricardo de Senna in the 44th minute of play forced Itaquarai SS's goalkeeper André Pinheiro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 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 2-0.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Duarte Pena to make the kick off. 55 minutes had been played when some careless play by Itaquarai SS's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Aureliusz Napierkowski was slow to take the kick. During this time Xapeco EC's players had a chance to rest. After taking down the ball on Xapeco EC's corner Aureliusz Napierkowski fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and André Pinheiro quite easily take care of the ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Duarte Pena in the 56th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg André Pinheiro saved Itaquarai SS from getting behind. Marco Maia was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Nelson Moraes showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 2-1 in the 60 minute of play. When Geraldo de Carvalho came up free with the goalie in the 63rd minute, the Xapeco 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 Geraldo de Carvalho couldn't finish the play. Digo Furtado received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 67th minute. André Pinheiro tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Duarte Pena might have been able to make a better finish in the 69th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over André Pinheiro. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Duarte Pena ran back to his position shaking his head. After having played for 72 minutes, Geraldo de Carvalho managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Xapeco EC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Geraldo de Carvalho was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 75th minute Nelson Moraes shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marco Maia saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in Itaquarai SS's zone, Duarte Pena stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. André Pinheiro came out of the goal and Duarte Pena tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ricardo de Senna in the 85th minute of play forced Itaquarai SS's goalkeeper André Pinheiro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a defensive mix-up in Itaquarai SS's zone, Digo Furtado stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. André Pinheiro came out of the goal and Digo Furtado tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 89th minute, Ricardo de Senna left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Xapeco EC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-1. In the 93rd match minute, Itaquarai SS was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Deivid Teixeira to maneuver through the defense. When the referee ended the match the Xapeco EC players were able to celebrate. They had won a fair victory and recieved the ovations of their fans.