Another Ejection, Another Loss

Grêmio‘s trip to Florianópolis was an utter disaster. Playing without six starters, the Tricolor fell 2-0 to Figueirense at Orlando Scarpelli Stadium. The loss extended Grêmio’s winless streak to four games and dropped them into 12th place and out of the South American Cup zone. Grêmio (16 pts) has not won since May 31st, a 1-0 win over Santos. Additionally, Escalona received a red card late in the second half, making it four straight games the Tricolor has had a player sent off. Grêmio will now prepare to face 3rd place Internacional (25 pts) next weekend at Beira-Rio. The Colorados are expected to field a reserve team as they preserve their starters for the Libertadores Cup semifinals. Figueirense (21 pts) moved up a spot into 6th and will face 10th place Juventude (17 pts) in Caxias do Sul.

Without its core players, Grêmio looked completely lost in the first half. The Tricolor had trouble completing passes and defending against aerial balls. It was on one such a play that Figueirense scored its first goal. On a 15th minute corner kick, Cícero broke behind the defense and headed the ball past Marcelo Grohe: Figueirense, 1-0. Emboldened by the lead, the Figueira began to pressure for a second. For ten minutes, the Tricolor was under siege. After withstanding the storm, Grêmio finally began earning possession and working towards a score. The Tricolor’s best opportunity came in the 40th when Rômulo was fouled by Chicão just outside the area. Valdeir, however, squandered the chance, blasting the ball over the crossbar.

At halftime, Mano Menezes pulled Rudnei in favor of Patrício, moving the latter to the right wing and Alessandro to the midfield. The move had little effect as the Tricolor continued to struggle to produce any offense. Figueirense took advantage of Grêmio’s ineptitude to protect its lead and work down the clock. Looking for a way to spark the offense, Mano replaced the ineffective Pedro Júnior with Herrera. Finally, the Tricolor woke up as they produced at least five scoring chances but lacked finishing. The best opportunity came in the 25th when Rômulo passed from inside the area to a wide open Herrera. The Argentine, however, somehow managed to shoot wide of the goal.

Then in the 39th, Escalona was sent off for a hard tackle, keeping alive Grêmio’s streak of consecutive games with a red card. Down a player yet again, the Tricolor lost all offensive momentum. Figueirense took advantage and iced the game in the 43rd when Diego broke free into the area and beat Marcelo Grohe to the left corner for the final score: Figueirense, 2-0.

After this poor showing and yet another red card, Grêmio is on the verge of a crisis situation. The Tricolor has not won since the end of the World Cup and is now a mere three points out of the relegation zone. Next Sunday’s game against Inter is vital. Despite the fact that many of Inter’s second string are better than Grêmio’s first, a loss to the Colorado reserves would be psychologically devastating. Inter got cocky when the teams met for the Gaúcho State title. They won’t make that mistake again. Can Grêmio rediscover the tenacity that won them that title, or are they a team on a downhill slide towards the second division?

Figueirense (2)	Grêmio (0)
Cícero (15') Diego (88')
Chicão (38') Schwenck (41') Andrey (89')	Rudnei (10') Herrera (65') Alessandro (55') Escalona (83')
Venue:  Orlando Scarpelli Stadium, Florianópolis (SC)
Figueirense: Andrey; Flávio, Chicão, Tiago Prado and Fininho; Henrique, Carlos Alberto, Cícero (Fernandes, 75') and Marquinhos Paraná; Soares (Alexandre, 88') and Schwenck (Diego, 68'). Coach: Waldemar Lemos	Grêmio: Marcelo Grohe; Alessandro, William, Evaldo and Escalona; Lucas, Rudnei (Patrício, HT), Valdeir and Hugo; Pedro Júnior (Herrera, 60') and Rômulo. Coach: Mano Menezes