Millionaires sealed a new elimination, with the sins of the entire semester: a lot of dominance, but without a goal, without the ability to break a closed defense and without being able to beat a Nacional that arrives as leader to the last datewith many options to be a finalist again.
If in the last game Junior did not let him play, this time, at least in the first half, Millonarios had many freedoms to hurt Nacional. In part, due to the game characteristics of the Gamero team, which makes the ball just another friend. And partly also, because of the approach of the two coaches.
Given the loss of Juan Carlos Pereira, due to flu, Gamero decided to move back to Mackalister Silva next to Larry Vásquez. And to that was added the idea of the National coach, Hernán Darío Herrera, not to leave a reference man in the area and to play with a false ‘9’, with which the two Millonarios center-backs had time and space to leave forward and attack, especially Andrés Llinás.
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Thus, the match, literally, was a horseshoe around the visiting area, although in the 18, the truth, there was not the danger that should have been generated with so much dominance. And so, in the midst of many blocked shots, of many saves by a hero dressed in green and white named Emanuel Olivera, the first half went blank, although Millos had at least two very clear ones: one, a cross from the right that grazed Olivera to make Mackalister Silva and Jáder Valencia continue straight, without finishing off, and two, a side charge in which José Cuenú headed as a defender…
Another thing was the second half, when Herrera agreed that, although with the tie he eliminated Millonarios and left everything for a one-on-one with Junior on the last date, because by winning he was a finalist and could play calmly in Medellín at the end of the quadrangular. He took out two who left El Campín unpublished, Jarlan Barrera and Andrés Andrade, and brought in Jefferson Duque and Yeison Guzmán, with which, first, he put work to the two blue central defenders and, second, he gained a lot of control.
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Guzmán was one of those who brought the most danger to the goal of Millonarios, especially in a corner kick in which he almost scored an Olympic goal, which goalkeeper Álvaro Montero managed to avoid on a difficult ball, since it stung before reaching at your hands. Millos was surprised and had a hard time finding the rhythm of the game.
If in Nacional they had quantity and variety to solve from the bench, the formulas that Millonarios had left to try to solve a game that was getting more and more complicated. And the only thing Gamero could do was introduce an 18-year-old boy, Óscar Cortés, instead of the Venezuelan Eduardo Sosa.
The end of the game was a game of chess. Herrera began to close the game, put together a defense of three and tried to hold on, given the impossibility of making a difference. And Gamero, in desperation, adjusted the attack with the entry of the other Venezuelan, Ríchard Celis, and Diego Abadía, instead of the exhausted Daniel Ruiz and Mackalister Silva.
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Nacional renounced in the last minutes the possibility of having qualified once for the final, non-stop on Wednesday. And Millionaires fell into despair. He had it at the end, with a shot from Cuenú on the post. With a youthful attack and no scorer, the game and the campaign were over. And again, despite having been first in the all-against-all phase, he was left empty-handed.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Sub-Editor
On twitter: @josasc
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