Cali took a break and calmed the waters with a draw in the classic against América

Deportivo Cali and América starred in a classic with many emotions that was marred by the terrible behavior of the local fans. The reds did not finish when they could and the greens found a respite in the midst of their deep crisis with the 1-1 this Friday in Palmaseca.

In the midst of a heavy atmosphere, América set conditions at the start of the first half: it stifled Cali and did not let them pass the middle of the field, but that dominance, which was enormous, did not even translate into goal opportunities.

There were 21 minutes of red superiority, which was extinguished with the first goal option of the match, which was in the other goal: Joel Graterol won one-on-one against Jarlan Barrera and from there, the panorama of the game changed: The ball belonged to the local team, but there was only one more option, a shot by Juan José Córdoba against the post.

America regained control at the end of the first half and, now, took advantage: corner kick from Edwin Cardona and header from Nilson Castrillón to make it 0-1 in the second minute of replacement, to win a break that ended up being much longer than expected.

In the second stage, Cali seemed affected by the bad behavior of its fans and América once again played a match similar to the start of the first stage, with the difference that, now, it created the options: the clearest, a shot from Cristian Barrios on the horizontal and a one-on-one between Eduar López, who entered in the second half, and goalkeeper Alejandro Rodríguez that was resolved in favor of the latter.

The match seemed to be settled in favor of América, but Fabián Castillo, one of the experienced Cali youth players who came to try to lend a hand in the midst of the deep green crisis, calmed the waters and He tied the classic with a great goal: he hung the ball at an angle with a shot from outside the area that left goalkeeper Joel Graterol with no options.

Emotions were missing. Cardona wanted to emulate Castillo and with a free kick he demanded that goalkeeper Alejandro Rodríguez turn him into a figure: he had to fly to get a ball that was also going to go into the corner, in stoppage time.

Everything could have been worse this Friday in Palmaseca. The tie brings some calm on the green side, as Cali added a point that, for now, saves it from the relegation zone for one more date. And on the red side, America will sleep among the eight for the rest of the date, although they may be very close in the table.

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