Friendly League

DAVID de AZEVEDO
Spectators: 37 (Terracing: 29, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Miguel Botelho kicked off to start the match. Joãozinho Pernambucano might have been able to make a better finish in the 6th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Augusto Fernandez. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Joãozinho Pernambucano ran back to his position shaking his head. After a rather tough play, Villaverde Celeste Clube's Adelino Correia got a free kick in the 21st minute. Leonardo Paz took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Edson-Arantes Pelé, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 25th minute, Joãozinho Pernambucano left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Palmares Futebol Clube fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. In the 29th match minute, Villaverde Celeste Clube was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Teodoro da Cunha to maneuver through the defense. Villaverde Celeste Clube's Augusto Fernandez played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ismael Secco in the 30th minute of play. With a little luck, Palmares Futebol Clube's Leonardo Paz got control of the ball when Miguel Botelho tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 33rd match minute, Palmares Futebol Clube was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Joãozinho Pernambucano to maneuver through the defense. Leonardo Paz showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Miguel Botelho, who was totally free with the ball in the 34th minute. After 36 minutes, Adelino Correia mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Villaverde Celeste Clube and the Palmares Futebol Clube players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Villaverde Celeste Clube getting a freekick after 36 minutes play. Adelino Correia hit a great ball. In a very dangerous position, a player in Villaverde Celeste Clube fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 37th minute. Penalty! In the 45th match minute, Palmares Futebol Clube was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Dorian Nogueira to maneuver through the defense. 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 Joãozinho Pernambucano made the kick off in the second half. Cafu Donato's late challenge caught a Villaverde Celeste Clube's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Cafu Donato helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to Palmares Futebol Clube getting a freekick after 53 minutes play. Cafu Donato hit a great ball. The supporters of Palmares Futebol Clube booed when Villaverde Celeste Clube was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 54 match minutes in a wonderful position. Isaltino Arce didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 55th match minute, Villaverde Celeste Clube was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Guilherme Duarte to maneuver through the defense. Joãozinho Pernambucano fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 70th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Augusto Fernandez having to interfere. João Vítor Sena was extremely unlucky when he, in the 74th minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. 75 minutes into the game, Alberto Valladares was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Villaverde Celeste Clube's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Palmares Futebol Clube the free kick. In the 76th match minute, Villaverde Celeste Clube was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Alberto Valladares to maneuver through the defense. 77 minutes into the game, Cafu Donato cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Augusto Fernandez was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Luiz Eduardo Donatello hit a great freekick 86 minutes into the match. Villaverde Celeste Clube's Augusto Fernandez played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cafu Donato in the 87th minute of play. Joãozinho Pernambucano received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Augusto Fernandez came out and tried to block the shot, but Joãozinho Pernambucano slotted it home off the left post making it 0-3 in the 89th minute. Augusto Fernandez made an important save on a dangerous shot by Cafu Donato in the 95th minute. The Villaverde Celeste Clube fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Palmares Futebol Clube were clearly better and deserved to take the win.