Ceará secured a 2-0 victory over Ponte Preta in the twenty-first round of Brazil's Serie B on Thursday evening. The hosts played at home in Fortaleza while the visitors travelled from São Paulo state. Lucca opened the scoring in the twenty-ninth minute before Giulio doubled the advantage with seventy-eight minutes on the clock.
And here's the thing about the match — it changed shape after the first quarter. Julio received a yellow card at eleven minutes, then picked up another at nineteen before being sent off. Ponte Preta played the remainder with ten men, and that shifted the balance considerably.
Lucca's goal came shortly after the disciplinary issue had been resolved. Ceará pressed forward and created a chance inside the penalty area. The finish was clinical enough to take the lead, and by then the visitors were already on the back foot. To be fair, Ponte Preta had looked organised before the dismissal.
The second goal arrived in the second half when Ceará found a way through. Giulio scored from open play after a period of sustained pressure. The visitors made several substitutions in an attempt to contain the deficit, but the gap proved too wide to bridge.
The statistics tell a familiar story. Ceará held seventy per cent possession and registered eight shots on target compared to just one for Ponte Preta. Expected goals showed 2.08 for the hosts against 0.97 for the visitors. They created more big chances, though they still had moments where they could have extended their lead.
The result leaves Ceará in sixteenth place with twenty-seven points from twenty-eight games. Ponte Preta remain twenty-first with ten points from twenty-seven matches. Both sides are still searching for consistency in what has been a difficult campaign so far.