Flamengo and Ceara draw 1-1

Suffering from the absence of stars Ronaldinho Gaucho and Thiago Neves, both suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards, home team Flamengo suffered a late goal from Ceara, equating to a 1-1 draw in the 11th round of the 2011 Brazilian Championship on Saturday.

Despite tallying its sixth draw of the competition, Flamengo remains undefeated thus far in the tournament.

Flamengo scored the game's first goal in the 32nd minute of play. Receiving an excellently crossed ball from Junior Cesar, a wide-open Renato Abreu showed off his ability by one-timing a great ball past a helpless goalkeeper, Diego.

Ceara battled back to tie the match in the 85th minute. Striking down the center of the field, Felipe Azevedo attempted a pass, but ended up losing control of the ball. Fortunately for Ceara, the ball ended up at the feet of a wide-open Osvaldo who then returned the ball to Azevedo. Reaching the ball before Flamengo's on-coming keeper Felipe, Azevedo knocked the ball into an open Flamengo goal, scoring the equalizer.

The draw keeps Flamengo in third place with 21 points, trailing second place Sao Paulo with 22 points and leader Corinthians with 28 points and a chance to increase its lead with a win over Cruzeiro on July 24.

In the next round of play, Flamengo will travel to face Santos on July 27.

Ceara provisionally remains in 10th place with 15 points, but may fall in the ranks depending on the remainder of the 11th round of play on Sunday. In the 12th round of play, Ceara will receive last-place Atletico-PR on July 28.

Source: Xinhua

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