Season 2 – 2008

A Fractured Season.

The State Championship First Round Group draw gave us a favourable set of opponents once more with Grêmio being the only club in the group to be considered bigger than ourselves. However, as every game at State Championship level is effectively a derby, the occasional upset is always on the cards and so it proved to be as we were beaten in our own stadium by Ulbra. Good results against all the other sides in the group (excluding Grêmio, who are rapidly becoming some kind of bogey team) saw us secure second place and a place in the Play-Off Group.

The draw for the Play-Off group gave us a similar situation to last season in so far as we were far superior to one of the teams to have made it this far, but quite simply not as good as the other two clubs (though we were able sneak a fortunate 3-2 win over Juventude in our home game). Grêmio, unsurprisingly, qualified from the group but were beaten by Internacional in the final.

Having performed better than last season in the State Championships the squad entered the Série B season full of confidence, despite being tipped as favourites for the drop. The confidence wasn’t to last as we were beaten in eight of our first ten fixtures (W-1, D-1, L-8, F-8, A-22). Slowly, but surely we began to string together a few results, and more importantly to stem the flow of goals conceded. Despite never really hitting any kind of consistent form we were able to move into a position of safety and avoid relegation.

Season Overview.
Finances.
Good attendances in the State Championships, a general increase in attendances due to playing in a higher division, the sale of Eduardo (£150k) and frequent cash injections from the board meant that we just about broke even for the season. Unfortunately the hideous loss from the first season meant that the club was still heavily in debt despite being well under the board’s wage budget.

Team Performances.
Pre-season saw Caxias named as favourites for the drop and both the fans and the board expected us to fight relegation. Last season’s surprise package (the young striker, Silva) began this season as he ended the last and scored over half of the club’s goals for the season. The team performed in fits and starts all season long with short winning and unbeaten runs interspersed by short losing and winless streaks. A short run of good form with ten games to go effectively secured our position in the division for the following season – a good job too as our record in the last five games was one draw one and four defeats (scoring just once and conceding fourteen times). As in the first season, our defence was a major cause of concern (joint worst in the division) and our attack often lacked a cutting edge when Silva failed to find the net.

Transfers.
Five players brought in on permanent deals over the course of the season, most with the aim of tightening up the leaky defence. Unfortunately none were able to perform better than the players already at the club and only Durval appears to have any future. Bought from Deportivo Cali of Colombia, Mejia was the only signing to warrant a (modest) fee and should have been the answer to the lack of creativity and attacking guile from the right wing. He never really settled and spent the majority of his time at the club warming the bench.

Kerlon, a season long signing from Cruzeiro, was a much more successful acquisition and his attacking midfield displays were second only to Silva’s form in terms of season highlights.

In terms of departures, Eduardo was sacrificed in the pursuit of cash while other ‘dead wood’ players were allowed to leave the club. Alison, a promising right-winger brought in during the first season, refused a contract renewal and left at the end of the season in search of a bigger club.