Santos eye home run to escape drop zone, Vojvoda urges support | OneFootball

Santos suffered yet another defeat and remains stuck in the relegation zone of the Brazilian Championship. Last Sunday, the Peixe even showed signs of a comeback, but didn't have enough time to equalize and lost to Flamengo, 3-2, at Maracanã, in the 33rd round.

The Alvinegro Praiano stayed in 17th place, with 33 points – two less than Vitória, the first team outside the Z4. Furthermore, with the loss to Flamengo, the Santos team reached five games without a win, with three losses and two draws in this stretch.

Santos has a home sequence, and Vojvoda appeals to the fans

Despite the bad moment, Santos will have a sequence of two home games in the next two rounds of the Brasileirão and will try to take advantage of the strength of Vila Belmiro to leave the relegation zone. The Peixe hosts Palmeiras this Saturday and then faces Mirassol.

Both games are against tough rivals. Palmeiras is the current leader of the tournament and recently defeated Santos at Allianz Parque. Meanwhile, Mirassol is the big surprise of Serie A and occupies fourth place. Because of this, coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda made an appeal to the fans and highlighted the importance of support at the Alçapão.

“My players and I need our fans, especially at Vila Belmiro. I understand the situation, I understand the fan, but I want a fan who is with us. After the game ends, they can evaluate whether we played well or not. But during the game, I want the fan at Vila to push us forward. When I came to play against, it was complicated. I want that fan. Afterwards, the fan has every right to evaluate how the team responded,” Vojvoda requested.

“I understand that the fan doesn't like some things, but we are at a moment where we have to be together. The players need the fans, I also raise my hand and need them. It's a fan that will help us because they know the difficult moment we are living. It's the moment to be together. I will demand maximum effort from my players, that they don't give up and keep fighting,” he added.

Mattos highlights the importance of support

Despite the sequence at Vila, Santos has faced some difficulties at home in the Brasileirão and has let precious points slip away. The Peixe is the fourth worst home team in the tournament, only ahead of Sport. They have five wins, five draws, and five losses, with a 44.4% success rate, 16 goals scored, and 18 conceded.

Football executive Alexandre Mattos placed his trust in the Peixe fans and believes that the supporters will be a fundamental part in avoiding relegation. Besides the games against Palmeiras and Mirassol, the team still faces the bottom-placed Sport and third-placed Cruzeiro at Vila before the end of the Brasileirão.

“We don't have to hide our difficulties. It's clear that we need to get out of this situation. What I know is that we will get out. We have home games, with our fans. We are having difficulty playing at home, not because of our fans, quite the opposite. The Santos fans have helped a lot in every possible way, and that's a weapon we have,” said the director.

“Humbly, we ask [for the fans' support] in these next two games, which are very important for us to get out of this situation. I played against Santos at Vila Belmiro and I know how difficult it is to play there. And the blame for that is ours, players, management. The fans are doing their part. Our conviction that we will get out of this is largely due to our stadium and our fans,” he concluded.

Upcoming Santos matches

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.