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Brasileirão Week 26 Match Report: Figueirense 2 - 3 Corinthians [Mon Sep 19th, 2005]
Corinthians champed down on the bit to get past a spirited Figueira under a torrential storm that converted parts of Florianópolis’ Orlando Scarpelli into a virtual lagoon.
Both teams suffered from the continual unpredictability of the bounce, reduced to replacing that knowledge of how the ball will react to riverboat gambling.
The first thing to suffer was a controlled interchange of passes, the flood demanding a sour choice: either the long-ball game or place your bets on the soggy rebound.
An example of this was Roger’s 4th-minute long shot that skipped off a wet Cléber and sent local keeper Édson Bastos the wrong way, the capricious water also slopping the ball wide.
Despite – or perhaps because of – the dire downpour, ex-Internacional de Porto Alegre striker Nilmar snaked through the opposing defense, the Gaúcho managing to turn adversity to advantage as he slipped past three defenders, but lost out to the waterlogged pitch before he could unleash a shot.
Nevertheless, Nilmar (16th min) nailed the first of the afternoon as he beat Cléber to a Marcelo Mattos cross.
The thirtieth minute saw the start of a lightning comeback by the home team as Bilu (30 min) netted the equaliser. In the thirty-third minute, a street-smart Edmundo robbed Bruno Octávio and crossed. Marinho made a hash out of the defence and Adriano gave no chance for Corinthiano keeper Marcelo.
Even though Edmundo had fouled the Corinthiano defender, ref Wilson de Souza Mendonça pointed to the centre circle.
Corinthians came back via a blistering Hugo shot that sprayed water in a halo around Édson Bastos’ gloves, but fell at the merciless feet of an opportunistic Gustavo Nery, there to tap the leftover in and make it 2-2.
Figueirense were left with ten in the 67th minute when Cléber hacked Roger at the half-way line. The resulting free-kick saw 17 year-old right-back Eduardo leave Édson Bastos a mere spectator as the ball nestled into the top right-hand corner: 3-2.
Tevez came close five minutes from time, but his effort wasn't needed, as the Timão left the field with a valuable 3 points.
Venue: Orlando Scarpelli Stadium, Florianópolis (SC)
Referee: Wilson de Souza Mendonça (FIFA-PE)
Linesmen: Erick Bartholomeu Bandeira (FIFA-PE) and José Pedro da Silva (PE)
Yellow Cards: Hugo, Roger, Tevez and Betão (Corinthians). Michel Bastos, Adriano, Cléber, Bilu and Bebeto (Figueira)
Red Cards: Cléber and Carlos Alberto (Figueirense)
Goals:
FIGUEIRENSE: Bilu, (30th min), Adriano (33th min)
CORINTHIANS: Nilmar (16th min), Gustavo Nery (55th min), Eduardo (69th min)
FIGUEIRENSE: Édson Bastos; Marquinhos Paraná, Bebeto, Cléber, Michel Bastos; Rodrigo Souto, Carlos Alberto, Bilu, Fernandes (Márcio Martins); Adriano (Paulo Sérgio), Edmundo (Alexandre)
Coach: AdÃÂlson Baptista
CORINTHIANS: Marcelo; Eduardo, Betão, Marinho, Gustavo Nery; Marcelo Mattos, Bruno Octávio, Hugo (Edson), Roger (Carlos Alberto); Tevez (Wescley), Nilmar
Coach: Márcio Bittencourt
Aaron Marcus
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