Brazilian League: Corinthians beat Criciuma

Sao Paulo City:

Corinthians continued to recover from a poor start in the Brazilian League, beating Criciuma 1-0 at the Pacaembu on Tuesday night. The victory was the third straight for the Sao Paolo club, who lie eight points adrift in the standings. Corinthians took a stranglehold of possession from the opening moments and did not allow Criciuma a single good look at goal for the entire first stanza. The game's only goal was kicked by Corinthians' Rogerio, when he engaged in an eloquent give-and-go sequence with striker Gil to register a memorable score. It was the defenders second goal in three days after he scored a penalty-kick goal to hand Corinthians a 1-0 victory against Parana on Sunday. With the 1-0 victory, Corinthians moved level with Criciuma in the standings. Both have 19 points from 15 matches but Criciuma are a spot higher in 15th by virtue of a superior goal difference. Palmeiras leads the competition with 27 points from 15 matches. (AP)