Cruzados 2 - 0 Berkley (391609388)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 30541 at QG dos Canhões today. Hugo Calheiros was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ilkka Kauppi and Robinho Romano. Cruzados tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. Lineup: Salgueiro - Abaeté, Donada, Inclimona - Dubiansky, Quiñones, Menau, Dias Bastos - Cousseau, Troye, van Katwijk.

A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Berkley. Starters: Girardello - Neves Brito, Ayala, Castaneda, Caballero - Correia, Bănăţean, Loebbeke, Crisp - Pesavento, Hannula.

Cruzados seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. Berkley took a creative approach on the field. A. Donada gave Cruzados the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 17 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as A. Cousseau broke through, making the score 2 - 0 for Cruzados. A. Cousseau could have put Cruzados up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 37 minutes. 2 - 0 was the score after the first half. Cruzados claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 71 percent.

66 minutes into the match Berkley's X. Ayala head butted an opponent nastily, and so the referee sent him off immediately. Unfortunately for Cruzados, L. Dubiansky was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. M. Alves replaced him. Berkley's right side looked dangerous after 68 minutes, as R. Caballero broke through. R. Salgueiro continued to stifle them, however, as he made the save look easy. Cruzados's M. Alves had an excellent opportunity after 76 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! Cruzados enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 62 percent of possession.

The most dominating Cruzados player was without a doubt T. Quiñones. D. Dias Bastos on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Berkley player was B. Loebbeke. However, E. Bănăţean made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 0.