Londrina played out a 0-0 draw with Atletico Goianiense in the Brazilian Serie B regular season on Tuesday evening. The match at Estadio Jacy Saff ended with neither side finding the net despite both creating reasonable chances. It was a result that kept Londrina in eighteenth place while Atletico Goianiense remained seventh in the table.
And here's the thing about this fixture — you could see both managers trying to control it rather than attack it. The first half was tight, with neither side willing to commit too many men forward. By then, you could already sense the cautious approach from both benches. Londrina had slightly less possession at 45 per cent but seemed content to let Atletico Goianiense dominate the ball while looking for opportunities on the break.
The substitutions started immediately after the break, which told you something about the coaches' intentions. Cristiano and Peixoto came on for Londrina in the forty-sixth minute, while Gustavo Maia was replaced by Heron and Willian Pottker for Atletico Goianiense around the same period. Both managers were looking for a spark, but the game remained stubbornly deadlocked.
The statistics showed the disparity in approach without revealing much about quality. Atletico Goianiense registered 136 attacks against Londrina's 88, but both sides created four big chances each. The expected goals figures were almost identical — 2.27 for the hosts and 2.25 for the visitors. Shots on target stood at four apiece, with accuracy rates of 24 per cent and 22 per cent respectively. It was a case of both teams working the final third but failing to finish properly.
Discipline held up throughout, with only two yellow cards on display. Gilberto received his caution in the eighty-fourth minute for Londrina, while Matheusinho was booked by Atletico Goianiense in stoppage time. The match ended with both sides having done enough to feel they deserved a point, even if neither would have called it a particularly entertaining evening.
The result kept Londrina's recent run of poor form intact — they had lost four of their previous five league games before this stalemate. Atletico Goianiense, meanwhile, extended their unbeaten streak to two matches after drawing with Atletico last time out. Both teams will need to find more cutting edge if they want to move significantly in the table.