League

Arena Betim
Spectators: 7465 (Terracing: 5600, Seating: 1716, VIP seats: 149) The mood of the audience was pleasant when José Paulo Fernandes made the kick off which started today's match. If Válbson Saldanha had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 3rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When the match had gone on for 6 minutes, Edgard Simões took a quick shot and it went in 1-0 without a chance for Felipe Pires to make any attempt to save it. Felipe Pires made an important save on a dangerous shot by Válbson Saldanha in the 11th minute. Cássio Rossi made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from José Paulo Fernandes in the 17th minute of play. If Mazinho Peres had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 19th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Betim MZC's Cássio Rossi played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Laerte Almeida in the 23rd minute of play. Válbson Saldanha received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 26th minute. Felipe Pires tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Through an outstanding action, after 28 minutes, Felipe Pires successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. After a defensive mix-up in Dark Dragons's zone, Edgard Simões stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Felipe Pires came out of the goal and Edgard Simões tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 34 played minutes Dark Dragons got a freekick which was hit by Gabriel Paranaense. Cássio Rossi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Laerte Almeida, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Laerte Almeida recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 39th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. José Paulo Fernandes fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 44th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Cássio Rossi having to interfere. In the 45th minute, Mazinho Peres hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 47th minute, Zé Paulo Porto 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. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 1-0.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Válbson Saldanha stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. If Válbson Saldanha had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 52nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Pedro Luís Alcântara hit a great freekick 53 minutes into the match. In a very dangerous position, a player in Dark Dragons fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 59th minute. Penalty! Zé Paulo Porto placed the ball on the penalty spot and got himself ready to shoot. Post out! Mazinho Peres got his second yellow card in the match during the 61st minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. Mazinho Peres hit a great freekick 62 minutes into the match. Felipe Pires showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Edgard Simões, who was totally free with the ball in the 64th minute. After a rather tough play, Dark Dragons's Frédson Santana got a free kick in the 65th minute. Betim MZC's Zé Paulo Porto couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 66th minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Dark Dragons. After some careless play in the Dark Dragons defense, Válbson Saldanha kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Felipe Pires. The Dark Dragons fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Felipe Pires should have stopped the shot. Dark Dragons's Felipe Pires played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Válbson Saldanha in the 79th minute of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 83rd minute, Alessandro Macedo managed to get in a good position for a shot. Betim MZC's supporters rose to their feet, but Alessandro Macedo was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Felipe Pires breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After 94 played minutes Betim MZC got a freekick which was hit by Bebeto Barros. Dark Dragons's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.