Maringá secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Floresta in the first leg of the Second Stage, keeping their fourth-place standing intact while Floresta remain one point behind in fifth. The result means both sides still sit on thirty points after nineteen games played.
And here's the thing about this match — it hinged on a single moment. Ronald Camarao broke the deadlock in the fifty-first minute, and despite Floresta pushing for an equaliser, the away side held firm. To be fair, the hosts had their chances but couldn't find the net.
By then, the statistics told a story of control without penetration. Maringá registered one hundred attacks against Floresta's sixty-four, yet only managed two shots on target while the hosts hit three. The away side earned six corners to none, but couldn't convert that dominance into more than a single goal.
Garraty picked up a booking in the seventy-seventh minute, and both managers made changes at the eighty-second mark. Ronald Camarao was substituted off after his decisive contribution, with Adeilson coming on.
The result keeps the gap at just one point between fourth and fifth place. Both teams have identical records — eight wins, six draws, five defeats — so every point matters as the stage narrows.
We had backed Floresta to win with forty-five percent confidence, but the match went another way. Maringá's ability to frustrate in midfield proved decisive, and that previous 1-1 draw from July offered little indication of how tight this encounter would be.
