This Saturday afternoon (2), Athletico lost to Londrina, 1-0, at the Café stadium, in the first round of the quarter-finals of the Campeonato Paranaense – Gil Rocha Trophy and, thus, saw an unbeaten record fall. which lasted 29 matches in state matches (the previous defeat was to Coritiba, 2-1, in 2022, at the Ligga Arena). Under intense heat (according to Simepar, the temperature recorded in Londrina at the time of the game was 33ºC), both teams struggled to produce concrete scoring chances until top scorer Henrique, in the 43rd minute of the 2nd half, gave the Tubarão an important victory that fuels Londrina’s dream of reaching the semi-finals. The return match takes place on Sunday (10), at 6:30 pm, at Arena da Baixada.
The 1st half was one of few emotions at the Café stadium. Even though Furacão had greater control of the field, it was Tubarão who managed to force a goalkeeper, in this case Bento, to work. The player, called up by Dorival Júnior for friendlies with the Brazilian team, made good saves from shots from Darlan, Victor Hugo and Peu. Athletico, in turn, when they attacked, were stopped by the offside, especially in a well disallowed goal by Christian.
The scenario in the 2nd half changed little. Rocked by the fans, Londrina came back better and tried to put pressure on Athletico. And, at the moment of greatest difficulty for Furacão, once again, star goalkeeper Bento appeared. After seeing Everton and Peu waste good chances for Tubarão, with shots over and to the left side of the post, respectively, the Furacão and Brazilian team’s archer saved Everton’s shot in the face, in the 20th minute. However, the afternoon did not predict that Bento would be the hero. In the 43rd minute, Pablo gave a beautiful pass to Henrique, who dribbled past the Furacão goalkeeper and gave Tubarão a victory that blew up the Café stadium.
With this defeat, Furacão will need to beat Londrina by at least two goals to reach the semi-finals and stay alive in the fight for the second state championship. If they win by one goal, it forces a penalty shootout. Any Tubarão victory or draw gives Emerson Ávila’s team a place in the next phase. The return and decisive game takes place next Sunday (10), at 6:30 pm, at Arena da Baixada. Check out the table below:
PARANAENSE CHAMPIONSHIP – Gil Rocha Trophy
Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 2
4pm – Londrina 1 x 0 Athletico (Coffee Stadium, in Londrina)
Sunday, March 3
4pm – Cianorte x Coritiba (Albino Turbay, in Cianorte)
6:30 pm – Azuriz x Operário (Os Pioneiros, in Pato Branco)
Monday, March 4th
8pm – Cascavel x Maringá (Regional Olympic, in Cascavel)
Saturday, March 9
4pm – Coritiba x Cianorte (Couto Pereira, in Curitiba)
7pm – Maringá x Cascavel (Willie Davids, in Maringá)
Sunday, March 10
4pm – Operário x Azuriz (Germano Krüger, in Ponta Grossa)
6:30 pm – Athletico x Londrina (Ligga Arena, in Curitiba)
In case of a tie in the goal difference between the two games, the dispute goes to penalties.