Total Soccer - Galácticos de Santa Lucía FC 4-1 (2-1)
Betancur 14', Córdoba 22', 90'+3', C. Hernández 81' - Orozco 38'.
Saturday, 14 October 2023, 2 pm local time (7 pm UTC), Marte 1 Stadium, Medellín, Colombia, 5th stage of Colombian Primera C, 1st leg.
Total Soccer are the defending champions of the Colombian Primera C. Photo source: Cápsulas de Carreño
Total Soccer, the defending champions of Primera C, advanced without problems to the fifth stage of the competition, after winning their group in the first stage, and then knocking-out Bogotá City in the second stage by 14-1 (!!) on aggregate (3-0 away and 11-1 at home), Tigres in the third stage by 9-2 on aggregate (4-2 away and 5-0 at home), and Real Barrancabermeja in the fourth stage by 5-3 on aggregate (winning 3-0 away, then surprisingly losing 3-2 at home). It was this last game against Real Barrancameja which left them without a perfect record so far and, in practice, made them play the first leg of the fifth stage at home, which is considered a disadvantage, given that the second leg is the decisive one, and they will have to play it away at Suán, on the home ground of Galácticos de Santa Lucía.
Therefore, it was vital for Total Soccer not just to win the first leg, but also to have such a score in their favour as to have the least problems in the away game the next week.
In the first half, both teams played openly, with attacks succeeding one after the other at both ends of the field. Total Soccer had however more chances and scored twice. First, after Santa Lucía missed an important chance, they triggered a counterattack, launched by Juan José Herrera on the left, which finished with Davinson Tapías crossing in front of the goal for Mateo Betancur to tap it in from short range: 1-0 (14').
The lesson was not learned by the visitors, who were caught again a few minutes later. The same Juan José Herrera gave a vertical pass in the centre, leaving both Danilo Morón and Degwin Córdoba all alone with the opponent goalkeeper, because the other defenders misjudged and came out wrongly to caught the forwards offside (which was not the case). Morón assisted Córdoba, who scored in an empty net: 2-0 (22').
At 2-0, Total Soccer relaxed a bit, and gave the visitors the opportunity to reply. The response came eventually, with Ignacio Almanza assisting Juan Carlos Orozco after a swift attack: 2-1 (38').
The score definitely was not the one that Total Soccer wished for, so they launched a total offensive assault in the second half, which was very similar to a handball game, played with a single goal (the Santa Lucía one). Unlike the first half, the visitors took a defensive mood and blocked all ways of access, hoping not to receive any other goals. They rarely launched counterattacks, but in one of those counterattacks, they missed an important oportunity to equalize.
In contrast, the number of chances missed by Total Soccer could be counted by the minute. Every minute brought a chance, but the players' shots either went wide or straight into the arms of the goalkeeper Javier Coronell.
The third goal came late in the game, and it was sub Cristian Hernández who found a beautiful shot to hit the target at the far post: 3-1 (81'). The game did not change after this, and Total Soccer mounted an even higher pressure in the final minutes, succeeding another goal by means of their striker, Degwin Córdoba, right before the final whistle: 4-1 (90'+3').
Total Soccer: Fierro - Mosquera (Avendaño 58'), Montes, Gutiérrez, Tapias, Arboleda (C. Hernández 58'), Parra (Ruiz 63'), Herrera, Betancur (M. Hernández 35'), Morón, Córdoba. Manager: Juan Gabriel Sepúlveda.
Santa Lucía: Coronell - J. Almanza, Riquet (R. Gómez 28'), Pren (de León 90'), J. Gómez (Rojano 77'), Carreño (Pérez 67'), Viloria, J. Polo, I. Almanza, Barboza, Orozco (H. Polo 86').
Referee: Wenderman Montoya.
Yellow cards: Parra 32', Gutiérrez 52', Montes 56' - Pérez 79'.
The second leg will be played in Suán (Átlantico Department) on Sunday, 22 October.
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