League

Aracatiara
Spectators: 6662 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1662, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Adhemar Queiroz started the match with the kick off. BIRMINGHAM's Perivaldo Aparecido proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 4th minute of the match, managed to save BIRMINGHAM from getting a goal against them. After some fancy dribbling in the 7th minute, Dênis Fernandez managed to get in a good position for a shot. Aracatiara's supporters rose to their feet, but Dênis Fernandez was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Perivaldo Aparecido breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After a defensive mix-up in BIRMINGHAM's zone, Adhemar Queiroz stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Perivaldo Aparecido came out of the goal and Adhemar Queiroz tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Dênis Fernandez received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 16th minute. Perivaldo Aparecido tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Conrado Leal hit a great freekick 20 minutes into the match. André Luiz Valladares's late challenge caught a BIRMINGHAM's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. André Luiz Valladares helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to Aracatiara getting a freekick after 25 minutes play. André Luiz Valladares hit a great ball. Ulysses Alvarenga showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rony Cardoso in the 27th minute of the match. Ulysses Alvarenga made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rony Cardoso in the 32nd minute of play. Ulysses Alvarenga took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rony Cardoso, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Aracatiara's Adhemar Queiroz got a good chance for a goal in the 37th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 43rd minute, Rony Cardoso left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The BIRMINGHAM fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The wind increased when Alfredinho Pitta made the kick off in the second half. Dênis Fernandez fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 54th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Perivaldo Aparecido having to interfere. In the 59th minute, BIRMINGHAM's Rony Cardoso ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Ulysses Alvarenga. Ulysses Alvarenga yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 0-2. If Rony Cardoso had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 63rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 65 minutes, Sílvio Luís Ramos mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the BIRMINGHAM and the Aracatiara players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, BIRMINGHAM's Sílvio Luís Ramos got a free kick in the 66th minute. Aracatiara's Ulysses Alvarenga played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alfredinho Pitta in the 73rd minute of play. 76 minutes into the match, BIRMINGHAM's goal looked a bit too open when Dênis Fernandez came free, but Perivaldo Aparecido reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The referee felt a red card was in order, 81 minutes into the game, when Sílvio Luís Ramos put in a rough tackle. After 80 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for BIRMINGHAM! The referee gave Aracatiara a penalty, 83 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Umberto Coelho, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of BIRMINGHAM's Perivaldo Aparecido. 1-2. Benjamim Dias's late challenge caught a BIRMINGHAM's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Benjamim Dias helped the player get up and apologised. In the 91st minute, Benjamim Dias hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Rony Cardoso fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 94th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ulysses Alvarenga having to interfere. 95 minutes into the game, Conrado Leal was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Aracatiara's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave BIRMINGHAM the free kick. In the 95th minute, Conrado Leal hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Perivaldo Aparecido made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dênis Fernandez in the 98th minute of play. BIRMINGHAM's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.