Junior’s mixed roster responded and beat Fortaleza, who lost first place in the BetPlay League

Junior de Barranquilla did the complete task this Saturday, at the Roberto Meléndez Metropolitan Stadium: he saved important players for his Copa Libertadores match against Colo Colo, gave playing time to several players who had been without continuity and, most importantly,beat Fortaleza 2-1, to partially get into the top eight of the BetPlay League.

This Saturday’s victory leaves Junior in sixth place, with eight points, awaiting what happens in the rest of the matches between now and Tuesday, with one game pending from the third date, two more games postponed and several teams that will not be active this weekend.

With only five regular starters on the field (Santiago Mele, Edwin Herrera, Gabriel Fuentes, Didier Moreno and Carlos Bacca), Junior had a hard time in the first few minutes, during which Fortaleza gained courage, played one-on-one and managed to make the fans who came to the stadium enjoy a back-and-forth match, with many emotions.

However, it was Junior who struck first, after a dubious penalty awarded by referee Luis Delgado for an alleged foul by Juan Camilo Castillo on Yairo Moreno, who was the star of the match. Carlos Bacca took advantage of this to score the first goal of the game in the 14th minute.

However, at 18, Fortaleza received a reward for its bravery and tied the match thanks to a header by Santiago Córdoba, after a good cross by Panamanian Iván Ánderson.

‘Cariaco’ González solved the problem and gave Junior peace of mind

Fortaleza faded as the minutes passed, and more so when Luis ‘Cariaco’ González got the second goal of the match, at minute 27, with a great shot from outside the area. The VAR, now yes, took a while to review the play and validate the goal, as it was analyzing whether Carlos Bacca, on the line of the ball, was offside. Everything was legal.

The visitors lost the momentum with which they had started the game and in the second half they did not demand goalkeeper Santiago Mele at any time. Instead, Junior’s coach, Arturo Reyes, had time to save Bacca and try out variations for what is coming, and in the process, put the visiting goalkeeper, Juan Diego Castillo, to work.

It turned out to be a quiet game for Junior, who is now starting to plan how to reverse Colo Colo’s 1-0 lead next Tuesday, to get into the top eight teams in the Copa Libertadores.

SPORTS

More Sports News