RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Goals either side of halftime from Erison and Jeffinho handed Botafogo a 2-0 home victory over Athletico Paranaense in Brazil's Serie A championship on Saturday.
Erison opened the scoring in the 19th minute by firing home from 15 yards after goalkeeper Bento Krepski parried away a low Jefferson effort.
The latter doubled the lead early in the second half when he intercepted an errant defensive pass near the halfway line and surged to the edge of the 18-yard box before rifling an unstoppable shot past Krepski.
The result snapped a three-game losing sequence for Botafogo and left the Rio de Janeiro outfit 11th in the 20-team standings with 24 points from 19 matches. Paranaense are fifth with 31 points.
In Saturday's only other Brazilian top-flight fixture, Pedro Raul struck in second-half stoppage time to earn Goias a 3-3 draw at Sao Paulo.
Dada and Danilo Silva were also on target for the visitors while Jonathan Calleri, Rodrigo Nestor and Patrick scored for Sao Paulo. ■
