The day belonged to Saint Sebastian, but the night belonged to Bruno Mezenga. On the holiday celebrating the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo played in Volta Redonda, and the young Flamengo striker was idolized there. With two goals in six minutes, Mezenga paved the way for the Gávea team's 3-1 victory over the home team at Raulino de Oliveira Stadium. Pet, who came on late in the second half to a standing ovation from the fans, completed the scoring.

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The start of the game, however, wasn't very encouraging for Flamengo. Still lacking chemistry, the red-and-black team couldn't quite gel with their best style of play and even came under pressure from Volta Redonda. Around the 30th minute, the first boos could be heard from the stands, but only briefly. It was just time for young Bruno Mezenga to shine. After misplacing a few passes and shots, the striker finally showed why he's been considered, from an early age, one of the brightest prospects in Flamengo's youth academy.

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Twenty games later, he scored for the first time in the senior team. In the 36th minute, Kleberson played the ball into the box, and Mezenga headed it in with precision to open the scoring. And while the striker's first goal for the senior team was slow in coming, his second came soon after, in the 42nd minute. Vinicius Pacheco made a great run down the right wing and found Mezenga alone in the six-yard box. He simply tapped it in, extending the lead: 2-0.

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After the break, however, the team relaxed. Volta Redonda, who had nothing to do with it, launched an attack and got a result in the 12th minute. Tássio headed in a cross from China to reduce the deficit for the home team. The celebration lasted exactly 15 minutes, until chants of "It's Pet, it's Pet, it's Pet" echoed in the stands. The 37-year-old midfielder came on to replace top scorer Mezenga, and in his first play, he displayed his usual class: he beat the defender and struck with skill to score the third and seal the score.

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With this result, Flamengo maintains its 100% record in the Guanabara Cup. In the first round, the red-and-blacks defeated Duque de Caxias 3-2 at Maracanã Stadium. The next match for coach Andrade's team, who was sent off in the first half, is against Bangu on Saturday at 17 p.m. at Engenhão Stadium, where the Red-and-Blacks have never dropped a point.

Technical sheet

Volta Redonda 1 x 3 Flamengo

Location: Raulino de Oliveira Stadium, in Volta Redonda (RJ)
Date: January 20, 2010
Time: 18:30 (from Brasilia)
Referee: Luiz Antonio dos Santos
Assistants: Alexandre Eller and Sérgio Waldman
Income: R$ 168.090,00
Audience: 8.463 paying spectators
Yellow cards: Alcir, Márcio Loyola and Márcio Guerreiro (VRE); Obina, Bruno Mezenga, David and Kléberson (FLA)
Red cards: Herbert and Washington (VRE)

Goals: Volta Redonda: Tássio, 13 minutes into the second half; Flamengo: Bruno Mezenga, 36 minutes and 42 minutes into the first half; Petkovic, 27 minutes into the second half

Volta Redonda: Everton, China (Andrézinho), Alcir, Herbert and Marcio Loyola; Paulinho, Mario Cesar, Leo Gonçalves and Marcio Guerreiro (Guilherme); Guido (Washington) and Tássio
Coach: Paulo Cezar Catanoce.

Flamengo: Bruno, Fierro, David, Ronaldo Angelim and Everton Silva; Fernando, Toró, Kleberson and Vinícius Pacheco (Gil); Bruno Mezenga (Petkovic) and Obina (Erick Flores)
Coach: Andrade

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