Corinthians wins third straight

Corinthians wins third straight

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- In just as many games on Saturday Corinthians won their third straight of the 2009 season. Even without team's most notable name, Ronaldo, the club seems to be on the right track on their way to winning the Sao Paulo state championship.

With a 4-1 score against Oeste, the team stands atop the leader board of the state tournament.

The focus of Mano Menezes' team is the stopped ball. Saturday's game proved that all the time spent by the head coach on the team's stopped ball plays has paid off as all four goals came while the ball was stopped.

In the 2nd minute of the first half, Corinthians lit up the scoreboard. On a corner kick, Eduardo Ramos sent the ball towards the front of the goal. Oeste's fullback Adriano attempted to kick the ball out of the area when he erred, sending the ball into his own net.

The team's second goal came in the 6th minute of the second half. Off a stopped ball, Diogo sent it towards the net when Otacilio Neto escaped from the defense to head the ball directly into the Oeste net.

In the 10th minute of the second half, Oeste was finally able to get on the scoreboard. After Chicao took down an Oeste forward in the penalty box, Dias scored the team's first and only goal of the game.

Corinthians continued their spree in the 14th minute of the second half. On another stopped ball foul, Chicao took the kick just outside of the penalty box. With marksmanship, he sent the ball just over the wall of defenders and into an unprotected Oestenet, scoring the team's third goal of the game.

The fourth and last goal of Corinthians came in the 44th minute of the second half Lulinha was taken down in the penalty box. After Souza pleaded to take the kick, amidst a booing home crowd, the player scored, sending the ball into the upper right corner of the goal.

In regard to their superstar, Ronaldo has officially dropped from 98 kilos to 93 kilos. However, the club awaits him to drop four more kilos before he enters the field. His forecasted return is set for early March.