Botafogo 1-0 Santo André
Midfielder Fernandes spared his side’s blushes with a late low strike to hand Botafogo a 1-0 victory over Santo André at the Copa São Paulo.
Botafogo, who have entered a particularly young squad for the competition, enjoyed the best of the opening half without ever truly threatening. The Carioca giants found themselves rarely in any danger, but unable to carve an opening in the opposition area.
After the interval, the game opened up somewhat and had 17-year-old centre-forward Vinicius shown just slightly more composure in front of goal, the Alvinegro would have been comfortable victors.
The side’s top-scorer at state Under-17 level in 2012, Vinicius was guilty of squandering at least two clear-cut chances, including one 1-on-1 chance beautifully created by strike partner Jefferson.
The Rio de Janeiro side did eventually make a breakthrough, though, with just minutes of the game to play, as Fernandes showed precision from 20-yards that had been missing from his team-mates’ earlier efforts.
Man of the Match: Jefferson (Botafogo) – The 17-year-old forward was a handful for his opponents, varying his approach between pulling off the last defender and dropping deep to orchestrate play. Had Vinicius had his shooting boots on, he could have ended with assists to his name.
Botafogo XI: Douglas; Emerson, Rabello, Cazu, Patrick; Sidney, Fernandes, Andreazzio, Carlinhos; Jefferson, Vinicius.
Santo André XI: Guilherme; Carlinhos, Heliton, Weslen, José Gabriel; Cássio, Alisson, Garré, João Guilherme; Cláudio Mussum, Fernando
Elsewhere in Group M: Taubaté 2-2 Gama
