League Play-Off

Teatro dos Sonhos
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. Ernesto Massa started the match with the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Vladimir Vaz in the 5th minute of play forced Rio Branco FC's goalkeeper Arí Sergipano to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Arí Sergipano showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Waldir Donato in the 10th minute of the match. If Waldir Donato had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 19th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 20th minute Cléberson Santana shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Arí Sergipano saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 26 minutes into the match, Cléberson Santana had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Arí Sergipano. Rio Branco FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Cléberson Santana was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. Arí Sergipano took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vladimir Toledo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Arí Sergipano stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Cléberson Santana's shot from short distance in the 41st minute. After some careless play in the Rio Branco FC defense, Waldir Donato kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Arí Sergipano. The Rio Branco FC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Arí Sergipano should have stopped the shot. After the first half Esmeril EC were leading 0-3. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Vladimir Vaz made a kick off. In the 52nd minute, Cléberson Santana fired away a killer shot towards the goal that, to the delight of Arí Sergipano, passed just outside the right post. Waldir Donato sent away a hard shot on goal in the 54th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 55th minute, Esmeril EC's Waldir Donato ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Arí Sergipano. Arí Sergipano yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 0-4. Arí Sergipano showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Waldir Donato, who was totally free with the ball in the 60th minute. In the 61st minute Vladimir Toledo shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Arí Sergipano saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 63rd minute, Waldir Donato left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Esmeril EC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-5. Rio Branco FC's Arí Sergipano proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 67th minute of the match, managed to save Rio Branco FC from getting a goal against them. Rio Branco FC's defense didn't have a chance, in the 69th minute, when Vladimir Vaz scored to the left of an out of position Arí Sergipano, making the score, 0-6. When Hélio Amaral fell near the penalty area in the 74th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Rio Branco FC's protests and gave Hélio Amaral a yellow card for diving instead. After a rather tough play, Rio Branco FC's Hélio Amaral got a free kick in the 74th minute. Arí Sergipano showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vladimir Toledo in the 79th minute of the match. After some careless play in the Rio Branco FC defense, Cléberson Santana kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Arí Sergipano. The Rio Branco FC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Arí Sergipano should have stopped the shot. After having played for 92 minutes, Cléberson Santana managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Esmeril EC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Cléberson Santana was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Arí Sergipano made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vladimir Toledo in the 94th minute of play. Esmeril EC's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.