Coritiba takes comfortable win over Atletico-PR

BRASILIA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- In the first game of the Parana state championship, Coritiba on Sunday pulled off a 2-0 victory over Atletico-PR.

Coritiba is now 90 minutes of soccer away from the state title. Should they win, tie, or even lose by one goal next Sunday, the team will be crowned champions of the state tournament.

Coritiba's victory put an end to the streak that Atletico-PR had put together this season of not giving up more than one goal in any game.

Before a crowd of more than 34,000, the game got off to a nervous start. Due to the nervousness, Coritiba was unable to take advantage of an empty net when Thiago Silvy shot the ball wide of the goal in the 6th minute. However, the team was able to calm down as the game continued.

In the 30th minute, the first goal of the game came when Ricardinho stole the ball from Valencia and passed it off to Carlinhos Paraiba who fired the ball into the back of the net.

In the second half, Coritiba played more defensively in order to hold onto their lead. The defense closed in on every ball and dismantled every attempt at a fast break from Atletico-PR.

A breakdown in the Atletico-PR defense led to Coritiba's second goal. In the 24th minute, Marlos took advantage of an erred pass and immediately passed it off to Keirrison who wasted no time in fired a bullet into the upper left side of the goal.

Frustrated, Atletico-PR was unable to avoid the precise passing of Coritiba while they killed the rest of the time off the game clock.

With the home crowd cheering them on, Coritiba rolled to a 2-0 victory. The team hopes for the same results in the second and decisive game next Sunday in the finals of the Parana state championship.