RIO DE JANEIRO, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Patrick de Paula and Matheus Martins struck late as defending champion Botafogo secured a 2-0 home victory over Venezuela's Carabobo in their Copa Libertadores group stage clash on Tuesday.

Midfielder De Paula broke the deadlock in the 86th minute with a 30-yard free-kick that took a deflection before flying past the stranded Carabobo goalkeeper Lucas Bruera.

The hosts doubled the lead in the 98th minute through Martins, who combined with Jefferson Savarino before sending a composed finish into the far corner.

It was no less than Botafogo deserved after the Brazilian team controlled more than 70 percent of possession and had 18 shots on goal compared to Carabobo's seven.

"We were impatient in the first half even though we created scoring opportunities," Botafogo manager Renato Paiva told reporters after the match. "Afterwards, we corrected the situation without being passive. Sometimes, patience is confused with passivity but that's not what happened.

"We ended up opening up the opponent. The more we tried, the more they retreated. We have to be careful not to fall into the temptation of crosses. I'm very proud of my players because they didn't give up on the game plan of how to dismantle such a difficult low block."

The result at Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Stadium leaves Botafogo third in Group A with three points from two games while Carabobo is last, having yet to pick up a point. Enditem

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