In the rescheduled Rio derby from the seventh round, Flamengo beat Vasco 2-1 in a thrilling match on Thursday night (18/10) at the Maracanã. With the result, the red-black team jumped to seventh place in the Championship, dreaming more and more of a place in the 2008 Libertadores.

Before the ball rolled, the big news was striker Obina's presence on the bench. The player, whose sentence was reduced to five games, hadn't been confirmed to be present, but the club's lawyers secured his release.

On the field, the game was thrilling. The match started evenly, but Flamengo suffered its first loss in the opening minutes. Midfielder Rômulo sprained his knee and had to be replaced by Hugo Colace. As soon as the Argentine entered the field, the first goal for Flamengo was scored. Toró stole the ball from Perdigão and, from the edge of the box, shot into the left corner of Silvio Luiz's net, opening the scoring at the Maracanã in the eighth minute.

Vasco's response came soon after. Andrade sent a free kick into Bruno's right corner, tying the score at 1-1. The match continued to be quite lively, and Argentine Hugo Colace, who had come on to replace Rômulo, was sent off in the 23rd minute for a foul on Marcelinho.

Flamengo felt the blow, and goalkeeper Bruno made a great save from Marcelinho's shot. On the rebound, Vasco forward Leandro Amaral kicked the ball wide. Down ten men, coach Joel Santana took off Maxi and brought on Renato Augusto. It was the midfielder who passed to Léo Moura, who was awarded a penalty. Ibson took the shot with a well-placed shot, giving Flamengo the lead once again.

At the end of the first half, Vasco player Marcelinho committed a hard foul in midfield, receiving his second yellow card and being sent off.

The second half started similarly to the first. Flamengo dominated the action and had a chance to extend their lead through Juan. Vasco stopped the play with fouls, killing the red-and-blacks' counterattacks. In the 32nd minute, Vasco had their best chance. Leandro Amaral headed the ball, but Bruno made a great save. Soon after, Obina passed to Léo Moura, who shot across goal, but Silvio Luiz saved. On the rebound, Obina shot wide.

At the end of the game, Obina still hit a beautiful header against the crossbar. Flamengo held on with determination and was able to celebrate another victory over their rivals in the stands. TECHNICAL DATA:

VASCO 1 X 2 FLAMENGO

Stadium: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)\ Date/time: 18/10/2007 - 21:45 p.m. (Brasília time)\ Referee: Evandro Rogério Roman (PR)\ Revenue/attendance: R$ 553.174,00 / 37.990 paying spectators\ Yellow cards: Toró, Juan, Leonardo Moura (FLA); Rubens Júnior, Marcelinho, Andrade, Conca, Julio Santos (VAS)\ Red cards: Colace, 22'/1st half (FLA); Marcelinho, 45'/1st half (VAS)\

GOALS: Toró, 8'/1st Q (0-1); Andrade, 15'/1st T (1-1); Ibson, 32'/1st Q (1-2)

VASCO: Silvio Luiz, Vilson (Rafael, half-time), Julio Santos (Dudar, 37'/2nd half) and Jorge Luiz; Wágner Diniz, Andrade, Perdigão, Conca and Rubens Júnior (Alan Kardec, 37'/2nd half); Marcelinho and Leandro Amaral. Coach: Celso Roth.

FLAMENGO: Bruno, Leonardo Moura, Rodrigo Arroz, Ronaldo Angelim and Juan; Romulo (Colace, 7'/1st half), Cristian, Ibson and Toró (Obina, 31'/2nd half); Maxi (Renato Augusto, 29'/1st half) and Souza. Coach: Joel Santana.