RIO DE JANEIRO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Paulo Henrique Ganso and Matheus Martinelli scored in each half as Fluminense secured a 2-1 home win over Rio de Janeiro rival Vasco da Gama in Brazil's Serie A championship on Saturday.
Ganso opened the scoring in the 10th minute at the Maracana stadium when he headed into the bottom-right corner after Marcelo's cross.
Martinelli doubled the advantage just after halftime by combining with Samuel Xavier and tapping home from close range.
Vasco reduced the deficit shortly after through Pablo Vegetti, who sent a header past goalkeeper Fabio following Hugo Moura's delivery.
But the host controlled the match thereafter to clinch its first win of the season and condemn Vasco to its second consecutive defeat.
"Playing at Maracana gives us a huge boost and today we showed how important the support of our fans can be," Fluminense manager Fernando Diniz told reporters.
"What we need to do now is to get results away from home. That's going to be our focus in the next few weeks and for the rest of the season, while maintaining our good form at home."
Fluminense is now eighth in the 20-team standings with four points from three games so far, a point ahead of 14th-placed Vasco.
In other fixtures on Saturday, Bragantino won 1-0 at home to Corinthians, Gremio edged to a 1-0 home win over Cuiaba, and Atletico Mineiro romped to a 3-0 home victory over Cruzeiro. ■
