RIO DE JANEIRO, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Argentine striker Pablo Vegetti scored twice as Vasco da Gama snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 home victory over Fortaleza in Brazil's Serie A championship on Saturday.

Portuguese winger Nuno Moreira opened the scoring by playing a slick one-two with Hugo Moura before sending a powerful right-footed shot into the far corner.

Vegetti doubled the lead just after halftime when he slid home a first-time effort after Paulo Henrique's inch-perfect pass.

Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the 68th minute as tempers frayed. Fortaleza forward Marinho was shown a straight red card for striking Lucas Piton with an elbow to the face while tussling for possession and Vasco's Philippe Coutinho suffered the same fate after pushing Marinho to the ground in retaliation.

Vegetti put the result beyond doubt with another sliding effort at the far post after Piton's cross from the left wing.

Vasco now has three wins from nine games and is ahead of Fortaleza in the 20-team standings by virtue of a superior goal difference.

"We needed to win again to gain confidence and I'm happy to have played my part," Vegetti told reporters after the match, underlining the influence of new manager Fernando Diniz.

"Fernando has been clear about the way he wants us to play. It's about possession football and today we were able to win that way, which makes the result even more satisfying."

In other Brazilian Serie A fixtures on Saturday, Ceara won 2-0 at home to Sport and Sao Paulo clinched a 2-1 home win over Gremio. ■