Figueirense saw off Marañão 2-1 in the nineteenth round of Brazil's Serie C on Saturday evening. The hosts took all three points at home, moving a point clear of their visitors in the table. Emerson Galego's second goal of the night came from the spot, while Rosivan had opened the scoring early on. The result keeps both sides within touching distance of each other at the middle of the standings.
Rosivan broke the deadlock in the third minute, slotting home a finish that caught the defence sleeping. The visitors responded with touches of their own, though Andre Radija picked up a yellow card before the quarter-hour mark. By then the pattern was set — Figueirense pressing forward, Marañão looking for space on the break. A corner each side told the story of a match decided in tight spaces.
Emerson Galego levelled things up in the eighteenth minute, capitalising on a moment of confusion inside the box. And here's the thing — the home side had been chasing the game for most of the opening spell. The equaliser changed the tempo, though neither team could shake the other. J. Testoni went to the referee's book for Figueirense shortly after, a reminder of the physical nature of the encounter.
The second half brought changes at both ends, with Vitor Ricardo coming on for the hosts in the forty-sixth minute. Marañão pushed forward, looking to take the lead, but the visitors' attacks found no real penetration. Mailson replaced a player for Figueirense in the seventy-first minute, a tactical shift that paid dividends. By then the penalty had been awarded, and Galego stepped up to send the home crowd into raptures.
The statistics told a story of two sides with different approaches. Marañão enjoyed more possession at 54 per cent and registered 70 attacks compared to 56. Yet Figueirense were sharper in front of goal, hitting five targets with five shots on target, while the visitors hit six but could only convert one. The hosts also had twelve shots off target, suggesting frustration rather than precision.
Figueirense now sit eleventh with twenty-eight points, one ahead of Marañão in twelfth. Both clubs have played nineteen games with similar records — seven wins each for the home side, six for the visitors. The result ends Marañão's run of consecutive draws and gives Figueirense a chance to push toward the top half. To be fair, neither team can complain about the final scoreline.