Vasco da Gama's under-17 side defeated Santos 5-0 in the Brazil youth league on Monday evening. The result came at the Maracanã complex in Rio de Janeiro during Regular Season round 18. The hosts had been struggling for consistency all campaign.
Santos arrived in 10th place with 27 points from 18 matches. They had won eight and drawn three before this evening's fixture. The visitors took confidence from their 7-0 victory over Fortaleza on their last outing.
Vasco sat in 13th position with 23 points before kick-off. They had won six, drawn five and lost seven times this season. The home side had bounced back from a heavy defeat to Internacional with a 4-0 win over Grêmio.
The five-goal margin tells you everything about how this evening played out. Santos found no answer to Vasco's attacking patterns and the clean-sheet run came to an end for the visitors. To be fair, the away side had shown vulnerability in recent defeats, including that 6-1 loss to Atlético Mineiro.
The result keeps Santos in 10th place while moving Vasco up the table. The gap between the two sides narrows to just four points after this round. By then, Santos will need to regroup quickly if they want to challenge for higher positions.