Água Santa made history. For the first time, the team from Diadema secured itself in the decision of an edition of the Paulista Championship. The vacancy came after defeating Bragantino by 4 to 2 on penalties (after a 1 to 1 draw in the 90 minutes), on Monday night (20) in Vila Belmiro. In the final, Neptune will measure forces with Palmeiras. The decisive games will be played in two matches, on the 2nd and 9th of April.
IT’S HOLY WATER!
Neptune goes in search of the Paulistão Sicredi title!#FutebolPaulista #PaulistanSicredi
? Fernanda Luz and Rodrigo Corsi/Ag. Paulistan pic.twitter.com/AWcCL0w5Fg— Paulistao (@Paulistao) March 21, 2023
The game started at a fast pace, with ball disputes focusing on the midfield. And in his first offensive move, Bragantino managed to open the scoring. In the seventh minute Andres Hurtado advanced at speed on the right and crossed low. Alerrandro hit the letter and the ball hit the crossbar and the back of goalkeeper Ygor before entering.
With the disadvantage on the scoreboard, Água Santa started to take more risks in the attack, but goalkeeper Cleiton showed confidence to hold the advantage until the break. But just five minutes into the second half, the Neptune player failed.
After receiving the ball from behind, Cleiton dominated, dribbled past Bruno Mezenga, but failed to advance too much and allow Lucas Tocantins to dominate, who evened the score. For the remainder of the match, both teams struggled in pursuit of victory, but equality lasted until the final whistle, which meant that the vacancy for the decision was decided in the penalty shootout.
And in the maximum penalties Cleiton defended Bruno Mezenga’s charge. Then Juninho Capixaba kicked the post. Number 10 Luan Dias scored the first for Água Santa, while Ygor Vinhas prevented Sorriso from scoring for Bragantino. Cristiano scored for Neptune, Praxedes did not fail for Massa Bruta, Reginaldo scored for the Diadema team and Thiago Borbas kept the Bragança team alive in the dispute. However, Júnior Todinho was not wasted and secured the unprecedented classification.
