Decision day. Valley Cup. And it’s also worth a place in the 2025 Copa do Brasil qualifiers. Penedense and CSA take the field today at 8pm, at the Alfredo Leahy stadium, in search of winning the Copa Alagoas. The first game ended 1×1 in Maceió. Today in Penedo, a new draw takes the final to penalties. The Arbitration Committee of the Alagoan Football Federation released the scale for the big decision. Denis Ribeiro Serafim (CBF/AL) referees the match. The assistants will be Rondinelle dos Santos Tavares (CBF/AL) and Maxwel Rocha Silva (CBF/AL). The fourth referee will be José Ailton da Silva (FAF). The winner of the duel between Penedense and CSA will face CSE, third place in the Alagoano Championship, in the qualifier for a place in the 2025 Copa do Brasil.
CSA did not start well in the decision and has a difficult task in the return game against Penedense. To win the title in normal time, the team needs to defeat the opponent away from home, breaking the riverside team’s fast against the Azulinos in the 2024 season. In case of a draw, the champion will be defined on penalties.
Coach Cristian de Souza knows that the task is not easy. However, right after Sunday’s match at Rei Pelé, he showed confidence in the team and made a point of mentioning the comeback against Murici in the semi-final. “Now it’s time to know how to deal with this pressure. The opponent there will play the game of his life, but we have already demonstrated strength against Murici, with a lot of personality and dedication from this group of players. We just can’t make mistakes so as not to incur a big loss.”
For the Copa Alagoas, CSA played four matches as visitors. They won three and lost one, precisely to Penedense. The utilization rate is 75%. There are seven goals scored against two conceded.
“We were going to have an even greater advantage, due to the volume, and we were punished, paying for a mistake, ending up in a draw in the first game. Now it’s time to take advantage of these two days and recover the players. Go there and make an intelligent strategy, in addition to reducing errors”, said Cristian.
