Flamengo defeats Ceara at Maracanã
In the debuts of Leandro Amaral and Renato, Pet steals the show and scores, from the penalty spot, the winning goal in a 1-0 victory.
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - inRenato Abreu and Leandro Amaral debuted for Flamengo this Saturday (14.08), but the one who decided the match against Ceará was an old acquaintance of the red-black fans. Supporter Petkovic, from the penalty spot, broke through the best defense in the Brasileirão and scored the winning goal in the 1-0 victory over the team from Fortaleza, which ended a four-game streak of negative results for the team from Gávea in the championship.
With the victory, Flamengo moves to 20 points and moves into seventh place in the standings. In the next round, the Gávea team travels to Curitiba, where they face Atlético Paranaense at Arena da Baixada. Ceará, which faces Grêmio in the next round, drops to 21 points and drops to fourth place, just one point ahead of the red-and-blacks.
Right-wing dominance
Renato Abreu was the first player to make his debut, but Ceará's Michel was the one who started the game with a clear foot. In the 14th minute, he took a powerful free kick from long range, giving Flamengo goalkeeper Marcelo Lomba a hard time. Six minutes later, in the 20th minute, Flamengo had its first chance: Leonardo Moura sprinted down the right and burst into the box, but fell, and the referee didn't award a penalty. And it was from that side that the team from Gávea threatened most.
However, the match was a tight affair, with few opportunities. Until Petkovic's star shined at the Greatest in the World. In the 31st minute, he came close to scoring from a corner kick, but Diego saved. The former Flamengo goalkeeper, however, was helpless in the 44th minute. The tireless Willians made an individual run, again on the right flank, and was brought down in the box. This time, Wagner Reway scored, and Petkovic converted the shot perfectly, to the delight of the Flamengo fans, who turned out in good numbers.
Defense ensures victory
The goal seemed to motivate Flamengo, who had a great chance to score just two minutes into the second half. Defender Welinton played a good one-two with Petkovic, dribbled past a Ceará defender, and was brought down on the edge of the box. The Serbian, however, shot into the wall. In the sixth minute, it was Leo Moura's turn to cross the ball, which the defense cleared.
After that, Ceará began to have more possession and look to attack, but were unable to penetrate the Flamengo defense. Flamengo, on the other hand, threatened on the counterattack, and the game became more open. In the 19th minute, when Renato took a powerful free kick, Diego palmed it away for a corner. Right after the ball was released, Ceará had a good chance to equalize, with Washington, who fired a powerful shot over the goal from inside the box.
The game remained open and lively, but the score remained unchanged, and in the end, the red-black fans celebrated, reaffirming their unconditional support for the team by singing the club's anthem loudly after the final whistle.
FLAMENGO 1 X 0 CEARÁ
Location: Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Order date: August 14, 2010, Saturday
Referee: Wagner Reway (MT)
Assistants: Emerson Augusto de Carvalho (Fifa-SP) and Carlos Berkenbrock (Fifa-SC)
Public: 20.696 paying and 27.393 present
Income: R$ 559.875,00
Goal: Petkovic, 42 minutes into the first half
Yellow cards: Michel, Anderson (Ceara), Petkovic, Willians, Renato, Correa, Marcelo Lomba (Flamengo)
FLAMENGO: Marcelo Lomba, Leonardo Moura, Welinton, Ronaldo Angelim and Michael (David); Correa, Willians, Renato Abreu and Petkovic; Leandro Amaral (Vinícius Pacheco) and Val Baiano (Galhardo). Technical: Rogerio Lourenço
CEARÁ: Diego; Oziel (Diogo), Fabrício, Anderson and Ernandes; Michel, João Marcos (Geraldo), Heleno and Camilo; Tony (W.Amorim) and Washington. Technical: Mario Sergio
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