Juninho leads Vasco da Gama to victory

Rio de Janeiro, April 1 (IANS) In his last match before undergoing dental surgery, Vasco da Gama's Juninho Pernambucano scored twice in his team's 4-1 win over Macae in the sixth round of the Rio Cup.

All of the game's goals were scored in the first half Saturday. Diego Souza gave Vasco da Gama the early lead in the 11th minute, slamming in a cross from Alecsandro. Juninho scored the first of his two goals in the 14th minute, Xinhua reported.

Macae's only goal of the match came in the 18th minute when Pipico leaped above the Vasco da Gama defence to head in a free kick.

Eder Luis scored Vasco's third goal in the 36th minute when Eder Luis drove past the defence and angled an excellent ball across the goal and into the net.

Juninho scored his second goal in stoppage time. At the top of the penalty box, the veteran midfielder faked a shot, dribbled past two defenders and fired the ball into the upper left corner of the Macae goal.

The win takes Vasco da Gama to first place in Group B, guaranteeing its passage into the playoffs of the Rio Cup. In the final round of the second half of the Rio de Janeiro state championship, Vasco da Gama will host rivals Flamengo April 7.