League

Vila Belmiro
Spectators: 7208 (Terracing: 5408, Seating: 1657, VIP seats: 143) SANTOS FC's Edinho Paulista played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Giuseppe Saldanha in the 6th minute of play. In the 9th minute, Sílvio Meireles ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Edinho Paulista was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. After 13 minutes, Basílio Ramos mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Imbirituba and the SANTOS FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 13th minute, Basílio Ramos hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Giuseppe Saldanha had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 17th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 21st minute, Giuseppe Saldanha left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Imbirituba fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-2. Rafael Cosme was in exellent shape and made a fantastic save when he, in the 25th minute of the match, managed to get hold of the ball after a long shot from Michel da Costa. If Dagoberto Prata had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 27th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 32 minutes into the game, Giuseppe Saldanha cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-3. Edinho Paulista was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After 35 played minutes SANTOS FC got a freekick which was hit by Rui Cavalcante. Basílio Ramos fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 38th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Edinho Paulista having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 39th minute, Sílvio Meireles managed to get in a good position for a shot. Imbirituba's supporters rose to their feet, but Sílvio Meireles was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Edinho Paulista breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 40th minute, Zeca Bittencourt hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Sílvio Meireles's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Edinho Paulista read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 43rd minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Zeca Bittencourt got free with Rafael Cosme in the 45th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 47th minute Giuseppe Saldanha shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Edinho Paulista saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Dagoberto Prata made a kick off. Sílvio Meireles received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 60th minute. Edinho Paulista tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 61 played minutes SANTOS FC got a freekick which was hit by Reinaldo Arce. In the 76th minute Christian Teixeira shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Rafael Cosme saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After having played for 79 minutes, Giuseppe Saldanha managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Imbirituba's supporters crossed their fingers, but Giuseppe Saldanha was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. If Sílvio Meireles had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 84th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Sílvio Meireles's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Edinho Paulista read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 87th minute of play. After 87 minutes, Cláudio Tavares mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the SANTOS FC and the Imbirituba players grew even worse after the yellow card. Imbirituba'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.