Santos beats Vitoria 2-0 in first leg of finals of Brazilian Cup

At home against Vitoria in the first leg of the finals of the 2010 Brazilian Cup on Wednesday, Santos won 2-0.

Santos' charged offensive includes four recently named members of the Brazilian national soccer team: Robinho, Andre, Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso.

In a first half of multiple offensive opportunities for both teams, Santos was the only one to score. Neymar scored his team's first goal in the 14th minute, deflecting the ball with his chest to score on a crossed ball from Para.

Neymar had another opportunity to score when he was awarded a penalty kick in the 73rd minute after being tackled by Wallace inside of the penalty box.

The young striker softly lofted the ball towards the center of the goal, hoping to catch Vitoria's keeper Lee off-balanced. However, Lee did not budge and easily secured the penalty kick.

The team scored their second goal of the night in the 83rd minute when Marquinhos slipped a stopped ball over the Vitoria defensive wall and directly into the lower left side of the goal.

Santos takes their lead into the return leg of the finals of the Brazilian Cup at Vitoria on August 4. The winner of the tournament wins the right to participate in the 2011 Libertadores Cup.

The match may also mark Robinho's last with Santos before having to return to Manchester City because his loan with the Brazilian team is coming to an end. The club is actively working on a solution to keep the star striker.

Source: Xinhua