First match, first defeat, and Marcelo Grioni is no longer manager of Cusco FC

Unión Comercio - Cusco FC 1-0 (1-0)

Medrano 41'.

Sunday, 3 April 2022, 1 pm local time (6 pm UTC), Carlos Vidaurre Stadium, Tarapoto, Peru, the 1st round of the Peruvian Second Division (Liga 2) - Apertura.

 Unión Comercio (in red) and Cusco FC (in gold) before the start of the game. Source: dechalaca.com

On a very hot day, the Peruvian Second Division started with a game involving two of the favourites for promotion to the First Division: Unión Comercio and Cusco FC.

In the first half, Unión Comercio attacked more. Source: dechalaca.com

The hosts seemed to have adapted better to the heat and had the initiative for most of the first half. They pushed constantly, and had several good opportunities to take the lead. However, Cusco FC responded on fast breaks, and Abdiel Ayarza had the biggest chance of the first half, but was denied by Willy Díaz.

In the final minutes of the first half, Unión Comercio broke the deadlock: a ball sent rather randomly in the opposite box was mistakenly controlled by one of the Cusco defenders, actually assisting Álvaro Medrano, whose shot went straight in: 1-0 (41').

Álvaro Medrano (without shirt) and his teammates celebrated the only goal of the game. Source: dechalaca.com

In the second half, Cusco FC took control of the game, and tried hard to equalize. The scenario changed in an almost reversed version of the first half, with Cusco FC attacking, and Unión Comercio defending, and launching dangerous counterattacks.

Mauricio Montes, Carlos Orbe and Alfredo Ramúa were sent in to help Cusco FC in the attack. Source: dechalaca.com

24 minutes before the end, Cusco FC manager Marcelo Grioni sent in Mauricio Montes, Carlos Orbe and (most importantly) Alfredo "Chapu" Ramúa, hoping to score at least one goal. Despite several good opportunities, the score did not change until the end. The result is a big disappointment for Cusco FC, and a big win for Unión Comercio right at the start of the season.

Unión Comercio: Díaz - Ruidías, Zapata, Munive, Vargas - D. Rengifo - Ibargüen (Guerrero 72', Vega 90'), Neira (Reátegui 84'), Medrano (Torres 46'), Vásquez - Zeta (Almirón 72'). Manager: Jesús Oropesa.

Cusco: Ferreyra - Velásquez, Minaya, Riojas, Corrales (Montes 66') - Ayarza, Aucca (Orbe 66') - Abisab (Meneses 81'), Gordillo (Carranza 46'), Felipe Rodríguez (Ramúa 66') - Fajardo. Manager: Marcelo Grioni.

Referee: Jonathan Zamora.

Yellow cards: D. Rengifo 17', Medrano 41', Reátegui 87', Munive 90' - Ferreyra 88'.

The defeat had consequences for Marcelo Grioni, Cusco FC manager, who was sacked in the following days, after the first competitive match Cusco FC played this season. 

Argentinian Marcelo Grioni, former manager of Cusco FC. Source: movistardeportes.pe

The decision of Cusco FC management comes as a big surprise. Marcelo Grioni was hired last year to save the team from relegation, which he did, and Cusco FC were relegated from the Peruvian First Division only as a result of a decision by the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne. 

He was then confirmed for the next season, 2022, and had an important role in the transfers and all the preparations made, including friendlies. It is true that the team lost its first competitive match, but there were many other matches coming... 

The expectations are obviously very high in Cusco and the new manager will have to deal with this level of ambition. The team is actually very good for the Second Division, there are excellent players, who would have found easily their place in one of the First Division squads, even among the top ones.

The next match for Cusco FC is scheduled on Saturday, 16 April. They are not playing in the second round because there is an odd number of teams in the Second Division, and there is a team receiving a bye in every round.