Atlético Mineiro, which defeated Flamengo 2-1 last Sunday and nearly caused the red-and-black team's elimination from the Taça BH, gave the team from Gávea a lifeline in the competition. This Tuesday, in the final round of the group stage, the already qualified team defeated Guarani, who would also have advanced with at least a draw. The result gave coach Paulo Henrique's team an unlikely spot in the round of 2010 of the XNUMX Taça Belo Horizonte de Futebol Junior. They were against the team from the capital of Minas Gerais.

A combination of results led the red-and-blacks to this classification. The first was, obviously, Flamengo's 3-1 victory over Siderúrgica in their final match of the competition. Then came Galo's victory over Guarani, as well as scores from matches in other groups. The Taça BH regulations stipulate that the top two teams from each of the six groups, plus the four third-place teams with the best technical index, qualify for the round of XNUMX.

The team from Gávea secured the final spot, as the fourth-best third-place team in the qualifying phase. With seven points, Flamengo tied with América, third in Group F. The two teams had the same goal difference (1) and the same number of wins (2), but Flamengo had the advantage in the number of goals scored (8 to 7) and advanced to the next phase, along with Atlético-MG, Seleção de Brumadinho, Atlético-PR, Juventude, Cruzeiro, Goiás, Madureira, Santos, Portuguesa, Internacional, Criciúma, Coritiba, Uberlândia, Palmeiras and Bahia.

"It was really hard work, but thank God we qualified and we'll have the opportunity to overcome Atlético and continue fighting for the title," commented left-back Jorbison.

The Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF), the tournament organizer, has not yet released the schedule for the final stage of the competition.