Last Wednesday (17), Flamengo/Marinha beat Ferroviária 2-0, with goals from Jane and Tânia Maranhão, and secured qualification for the Brazilian Women's Football Championship. After the match, coach Ricardo Abrantes spoke to the official website on the pitch at the José Bastos Padilha stadium, in Gávea.
"It was a game that started very tensely, and things didn't work out. We organized ourselves in the second half because we needed to win. It was an important result for a team that's used to winning. We've lost three games in a row and we needed this win to regain our belief, because we're a team that came here to be two-time champions. We were able to restructure ourselves, the nervousness passed, we put our plays together, and we could have come away with more goals. This gives us encouragement for the end of the first phase and for the next, which will be a knockout round. Our objective remains the same," said the coach.
He also added, speaking about the changes he requested in the locker room after a balanced first half. "We talked about how we needed to organize ourselves and how there was no point in playing nervously. They know how to play football; they're a champion team. I asked them to group up and play together. They embraced it well; they were all excellent. They gave their all in the second half; they ran a lot. All the substitutions were due to fatigue, as they all gave their all for Flamengo and Marinha, which is what we always do."
The Girls from Gávea face São José on Wednesday (24), at 15 pm, at the Martins Pereira stadium, São José dos Campos (SP). Ricardo Abrantes called for attention in the final stretch of the championship.
"We must always remember to play in an organized manner, because it's difficult for any team to beat us that way. We can't get distracted and must be very focused. Everyone who came off the bench today created chances, which adds to the team and also gives strength to those who are coming on. We need everyone to be on top in this decisive phase," he concluded.