Santo Cruz (RJ) brushed aside Bozius 3-0 on Saturday in the third group stage match of the Carioca B2, a result that leaves the hosts three points clear of the drop zone while the visitors remain rooted to the bottom. Goals at twenty-one, thirty and ninety-three minutes gave the home side a comfortable margin, and by then the contest was already decided. To be fair, Bozius had little to offer after the opening quarter, and the visitors paid for a sloppy opening with a second-half rout.
The first goal came at twenty-one minutes, a sharp finish that settled the nerves of a home side still finding their rhythm. Another ten minutes passed before the second arrived, and here's the thing: the tempo never really climbed. Bozius threw bodies in the way, but without the ball they could only watch. The third goal landed in stoppage time, a late stamp on a game that had been over in all but name.
We had called for this outcome before kickoff, backing the hosts at ninety-six per cent confidence. It wasn't blind optimism — Santo Cruz had lost just once in their previous five and were playing at home, while Bozius carried three defeats into the fixture. The prediction held up, because the gulf in form simply showed through.
The result shifts the table slightly. Santo Cruz move to third on six points from three games, a comfortable buffer above the relegation places. Bozius sit twelfth, still without a win, still without a point, and now with a goal difference to repair. The draw brought them together early, but this wasn't the sort of match where a draw feels likely.