League

Mineirão
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Vivaldo Neiva kicked off to start the match. Cruzeiro S.A's Jarbas Tasso played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rodrigo Camargo in the 3rd minute of play. Paulo Renato Meira made a fantastic save in the 5th minute, when Robinho Castro sent off a good shot on target. After 7 played minutes Barcellos got a freekick which was hit by Edmílson Favoretto. Cruzeiro S.A's Jarbas Tasso played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Vivaldo Neiva in the 9th minute of play. Barcellos's Paulo Renato Meira proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 13th minute of the match, managed to save Barcellos from getting a goal against them. The audience thought a goal was coming when Nilton Mattos got free with Paulo Renato Meira in the 14th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Nilton Mattoss short, quick shot in the 15thth minute got Paulo Renato Meira to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Jacinto Araújo fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 16th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Paulo Renato Meira having to interfere. Jarbas Tasso showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Rodrigo Camargo, who was totally free with the ball in the 18th minute. A hard shot 20 in the game by Robinho Castro from a close distance when the talented Paulo Renato Meira managed to make a qualified save. Barcellos's players were relieved. Paulo Renato Meira made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Belmiro Varela in the 22nd minute of play. Rodrigo Camargo might have been able to make a better finish in the 26th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Jarbas Tasso. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Rodrigo Camargo ran back to his position shaking his head. After a rather tough play, Cruzeiro S.A's Afonsinho Guimarães got a free kick in the 26th minute. Jacinto Araújo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 29th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Cruzeiro S.A's Nilton Mattos got a free kick in the 31st minute. Cruzeiro S.A's Robinho Castro got a good chance for a goal in the 33rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Jacinto Araújo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 37th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Robinho Castro recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 41st minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Jacinto Araújo 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. An unexpectedly hard shot by Belmiro Varela in the 44th minute of play forced Barcellos's goalkeeper Paulo Renato Meira to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 47th minute, Robinho Castro 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. Cruzeiro S.A's Victor Bertassi was substituted for Belmiro Varela. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Jacinto Araújo to make the kick off. When Jacinto Araújo came up free with the goalie in the 53rd minute, the Cruzeiro S.A 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 Jacinto Araújo couldn't finish the play. Victor Bertassi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 55th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 57 minutes into the match, Barcellos's goal looked a bit too open when Nilton Mattos came free, but Paulo Renato Meira reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. A collision led to Barcellos getting a freekick after 57 minutes play. Edmílson Favoretto hit a great ball. Jarbas Tasso made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vivaldo Neiva in the 62nd minute of play. In the 66th minute Robinho Castro shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Paulo Renato Meira saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jacinto Araújo in the 67th minute of play forced Barcellos's goalkeeper Paulo Renato Meira to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 69th minute, Robinho Castro ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Paulo Renato Meira was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-0. In the 73rdth minute of the game Robinho Castro who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Barcellos's Paulo Renato Meira was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Jacinto Araújo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 74th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 76 minutes of play, Cruzeiro S.A's Victor Bertassi made it 3-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Paulo Renato Meira was left in no man's land by his defense there! After having played for 81 minutes, Robinho Castro managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Cruzeiro S.A's supporters crossed their fingers, but Robinho Castro was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After 85 minutes of play, Cruzeiro S.A's Robinho Castro made it 4-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Paulo Renato Meira was left in no man's land by his defense there! Cruzeiro S.A's Jarbas Tasso played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Vivaldo Neiva in the 90th minute of play. Paulo Renato Meira made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Robinho Castro in the 92nd minute of play. Jarbas Tasso showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Vivaldo Neiva, who was totally free with the ball in the 96th minute. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Cruzeiro S.A fully deserved thier win.