Despite the win for Fogão, it was more or less a balanced game altogether. In the first 20 minutes of the game, Vasco even had two good chances to score but failed to put them to good use. Cano saw his shot saved in the 16th minute and Marcos Júnior could only watch his shot hit the crossbar two minutes later.
The first half ended goalless and the second half started in same fashion.
The game looked like it could be playing for a draw but Babi made all the difference.
The Brazilian forward proved to be decisive once again and bagged his third goal against Vasco in two games.
In the last weekend, in the confrontation between the two teams for the Brazilian Championship, Babi was prolific in that game and bagged a brace in his side’s 3-2 defeat to Vasco. This time, he was decisive and his header in the 68th minute proved to be the winner in the game.
The two teams will face each other again for the Copa do Brasil next Wednesday in São Januário. With the result at Nilton Santos, Vasco need to win the round by two goals difference to advance to the round of 16. In case of a tie, Botafogo will advance. If the São Januário team wins by a goal difference, the game will be decided via penalties.
Whoever qualifies in next week"s match will also profit high. The prize for teams that advance to the next round of the Brazil Cup is R $ 2.6 million.
