PANAJI
Brazil defeated Russia 2-0 in a top of the table clash of the BRICS U-17 Tournament at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, on Sunday.
Goals by Victor Oliviera and Vinicius Oliviera led Brazil to their second win of the tournament, grabbing six points out of a possible six.
After a drab opening first few minutes, the Brazilians turned on the style and in the 26th minute, a solo run by Wesley David, which resulted a shot at the end almost, went in to give Brazil the lead. Nine minutes later, a tacky one-touch play around the edge of the Russian box saw Brenner Silva onto goal, only to shoot wide of the intended target.
However, Russia almost took the lead in the 37th minute much against the run of play when Vitor Matos caught the Brazilian custodian way off his lines by a back header and had the Brazilian custodian not resorted to last minute acrobatics to keep the ball out, Russia would have easily taken the lead. Not to be deterred the Brazilians took the lead in the very next minute as Victor Oliviera capitalized on an exquisite through ball and bashed it home to give Brazil a solitary goal lead going into half-time.
The Brazilian attacking juggernaut gained momentum in the second half and Carlus Amadeu’s boys largely kept the ball in Russia’s defensive half. Apart for a Lopatin chance in the 54th minute, which went astray, Russia did not really threaten Brazil’s goal. In the 78th minute, substitute Vinicius Oliviera put the tie to rest as he doubled Brazil’s lead with less than twelve minutes left on the clock. The full-time scoreline read 2-0 in Brazil’s favour as the South American team secured their second win of the tournament.
