In the last round of the second half of the Rio de Janeiro state championship, Vasco da Gama won in dramatic fashion on Sunday and secured their presence in the semifinals.
Beating Duque de Caxias 4-3, Vasco da Gama\’s interim head coach Gaucho achieved his third-straight victory and now leads his team into the playoffs.
After a long dry spell on the field, Vasco da Gama\’s Dodo returned to have a good game. With his two goals, he propelled his team to victory and a well-deserved spot in the semifinals.
Nearly two weeks ago, the team fired head coach Vagner Mancini, giving space for assistant coach Gaucho to lead the team.
The match was highly competitive. Duque de Caxias scored the game\’s first goal in the 15th minute. Junior slammed a stopped ball through the hands of Vasco\’s goalkeeper Fernando Prass.
Vasco da Gama quickly responded. In the 16h minute, Fagner took a shot on goal from well outside of the pentalty box that bent its way into the upper right corner of goalkeeper Getulio Vargas\’ net.
The team scored once more before halftime. In the 22nd minute, Leo Gago passed the ball off to Elton who then spun around the defense and fired the ball into the back of the goal.
Vasco da Gama extended their lead in the 50th minute when Dodo received the ball at the front of the Duque de Caxias goal. Dodo waited for the goalkeeper to make a move. Once Getulio Vargas approached, Dodo quickly lofted the ball over his head and into an empty goal.
Duque de Caxias responded by scoring two consecutive goals, tying the match at 3-3. Junior scored in the 56th minute, sending a stopped ball past Prass and into the left corner of the goal. Again, in the 63rd minute the home team scored when Marcelo recieved the ball unmarked and dribble his way towards the goal, sliding the ball past Prass.
Dodo would reappear to score his second goal of the match. In the 77th minute, the striker received a great heal pass from Elton, leaving him wide-open in the front of the net. Dodo dominated the ball and blew it past an approaching Vargas, scoring the game-winning goal.
"I am happy to be back to normal and help the team. I went through a bad phase, but I am slowly crawling out of my slump. It is great to return to be an important part of the team," celebrated Dodo.
The win takes Vasco da Gama to 15 points in Group B. In second place, the team will face the first place team of Group A Flamengo on April 11 in a single game elimination semifinals showdown.
Source: Xinhua
