After falling behind in the first half, Flamengo scored in the 45th minute of the second half, with a penalty converted by Johnny, and drew 1-1 with Cuiabá. The match, valid for the 16th round of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship, was played this Wednesday (17), at the José Bastos Padilha Stadium, in Gávea.

Flamengo started the match looking to attack, but goal-scoring opportunities didn't materialize. Meanwhile, Cuiabá forced Werneck to make three saves in 7 minutes. Flamengo responded in two moments: at 8 minutes, with a shot from Josmar on the right; and at 10 minutes, with a shot from Kaio Nobrega after a cross from Ramires, which was brilliantly saved by the goalkeeper.

Flamengo came close to scoring again in the 19th minute when Daniel Sales crossed the ball, which fell to Joshua who attempted a cross from the edge of the six-yard box. The Cuiabá defense cleared the ball. Following that, the opponent had a shot that went over the goal. In the 23rd minute, Cuiabá hit the post and two minutes later opened the scoring.

In a good play down the right, Daniel Sales took a strong, low shot across goal. The goalkeeper made a great save, deflecting it behind the goal line in the 31st minute. From the resulting corner, João Victor almost equalized inside the six-yard box. The Flamengo team continued to apply pressure. In the 34th minute, Joshua shot, the ball went past the goalkeeper, and the defense cleared it off the goal line. Shortly after, the ball came close to going in again, with attacks from Ramires and Joshua.

In the second half, the first dangerous play came from Flamengo. Josmar received the ball from Sayago at the edge of the area in the 14th minute and shot; the ball deflected off the defense and went just wide of the left post. Cuiabá had a dangerous counter-attack in the 18th minute, which Johnny managed to block, preventing the shot at the right moment. Flamengo sought to maintain their attack to try and mount a comeback, while Cuiabá relied on quick transitions. In the 34th minute, the Flamengo team once again failed to get a shot off from inside the area after creating the play.

At the end of the match, the Cuiabá defender committed a penalty on Jhefinho, on the left side of the area. Johnny took the penalty and converted to tie the game at 45 minutes. Fla came close again at 48 minutes, with a shot from Falcone that deflected off the defense and went out of play, shortly before the referee ended the match.

The Brazilian Under-20 Championship will feature two away games against teams from São Paulo. The first opponent will be São Paulo, next Saturday (20), at 15 pm, at the Marcelo Portugal Stadium, in Cotia-SP. Then on the 25th, at 15 pm, Rubro-Negro will face Corinthians, at Parque São Jorge, in the capital of São Paulo.