Nothing to nothing in another Cusco derby

Cusco FC - Cienciano 0-0

Sunday, 16 July 2023, 5 pm local time (10 pm UTC), Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Stadium, Cusco, Peru, the 4th round of Clausura, Peruvian First Division (Liga 1).

Many people came to see the local derby between Cusco FC (hosts, technically speaking) and Cienciano. Many of them left disappointed. The match was pretty much over quite early in the game (18'), when the referee (mistakenly adviced by the VAR referee) decided to send off Federico Alonso (Cusco FC) for a rough tackle on Carlos Garcés (Cienciano). The tackle was rough indeed, but Alonso touched the ball first and only afterwards the foot of Garcés, who arrived second and got slightly caught by the Cusco FC defender. The referee, who was just a meter away, initially did not award anything, not even a foul, but then was called by the VAR referee, who thought that there was a malicious intention from Alonso. This is something that we will never know. The referee watched the action for several times in slow motion and after two minutes or so, he decided that Alonso was guilty and showed him the red card.

The most important moment of the game: referee Augusto Menéndez called to review the action of Federico Alonso (Cusco FC), who was eventually sent off. Photo source: Cienciano Facebook page

Not much had been played before this, but afterwards the game became extremely boring. Cusco FC, down to ten men, also lost their best attacking player, Felucho Rodríguez (injured, unfortunately), who was substituted by Jonathan Bilbao, a third centre back, who actually took the place of Alonso in the defensive line. So, Cusco FC played with five defenders from the very beginning of the game, but gave up all offensive ambitions once they remained in ten. It is also interesting to note that Cusco FC had no foreign player in the field for 40 minutes, between the 21st and 61st minute, because the two foreign players who started the game were out: Alonso sent off and Rodríguez substituted. In the 61st minute, Panamanian Abdiel Ayarza came in as the only available foreign player, given that Fajardo is still out with the Panama national team (losing the Gold Cup final to Mexico) and Da Luz was unavailable.

Cienciano had all the reasons in the world to win this game easily, as they were practically at home (Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Stadium is the home ground for both teams), had one man up, the crowd mostly behind them and Cusco FC in the most difficult position imaginable, with their best players out or unavailable for various reasons.

Nonetheless, Cienciano proved to be unable to take any sort of benefit out of such a situation. They attacked more or less continuously, but they simply could not find the way to get through the very organised Cusco FC defense.

Gerson Barreto (Cusco FC) with the ball, surrounded by Cienciano players. Photo source: Cusco FC Facebook page

Garcés had a shot, but went wide (25') and a header by Evangelista also passed pretty close to the post (37'). Cusco FC replied very rarely on the counterattack. In the first half, they only had one such opportunity just before the break, and Guivín even scored, but the goal was cancelled for a previous foul on a Cienciano defender.

Luis Garro (Cienciano, in red) and Nelinho Quina (Cusco FC) fight for the ball. Photo source: Cienciano Facebook page

The second half was equally boring. Cienciano were the practical definition of impotence in football. Cusco FC only tried to fragment the game, to give the ball away anywhere, and to waste as much time as possible. Several chances emerged towards the end of the game. Newly-entered Abdiel Ayarza (Cusco FC) was well found by Gordillo's cross, but his header was poor (75'). In the other box, desperate attempts were made by Cienciano players, to no avail. A couple of headers from Danilo Carando went slightly above (81' and 89') and a shot by Evangelista, also wide (87'), were the biggest opportunities for Cienciano.

After the game, Cusco FC celebrated their 14th anniversary, and the draw was considered almost as good as a win, given the circumstances.

Cusco: Ferreyra - Estrada, Alonso, Benincasa, Quina, Gordillo - Vidales (Uribe 80'), Barreto, Guivín (Aucca 61'), F. Rodríguez (Bilbao 21') - Olivares (Ayarza 61'). Manager: Pablo Peirano.

Cienciano: Vargas - Garro (Córdova 78'), Beltrán, Riojas, Evangelista, Quintana (Hurtado 58') - Ojeda, Solís (Santillán 89'), La Torre (Carando 58'), Pacheco - Garcés (Romagnoli 78'). Manager: Gerardo Ameli.

Referee: Augusto Menéndez.

Yellow cards: Estrada 13', Olivares 61', Ferreyra 87' - Riojas 45'+1', Solís 54'.

Red card: Alonso 18'.

It is also interesting to note that several former important players of Cusco FC (or Real Garcilaso) played for Cienciano, such as Danilo Carando and Ivan Santillán, who both came in the second half. However, the most important player for the entire Cusco FC history, Alfredo Ramúa, did not play for Cienciano, as his contract transfer this summer included a clause which did not allow him to play against his former team. The reverse is also true, as several former Cienciano players did play for Cusco FC this time, such as Ferreyra, Estrada or Ayarza.

In the next round, Cienciano will face Sport Huancayo at home on Friday, while Cusco FC will play away at Alianza Atlético de Sullana on Saturday.

Full results, tables and fixtures:

 

Round 4 (14-17 July 2023)

 

UTC Cajamarca – Alianza Atlético 1-1

Universitario de Deportes – Unión Comercio 2-0

Deportivo Garcilaso – ADT Tarma 1-2

Sporting Cristal – Carlos A. Mannucci 3-2

Universidad César Vallejo – Academia Cantolao 2-1

Atlético Grau – Deportivo Binacional 2-1

Sport Boys – Alianza Lima 1-0

Cusco FC – Cienciano 0-0

Deportivo Municipal – FBC Melgar 0-1

Sport Huncayo bye

 

Clausura table

 

1	FBC Melgar	4	3	1	0	10-2	10	Qualified for the play-offs
2	Universitario de Deportes	4	3	1	0	9-2	10
3	Sporting Cristal	4	3	1	0	8-2	10
4	Sport Boys	4	3	0	1	4-2	9
5	Deportivo Garcilaso	4	2	1	1	9-5	7
6	Sport Huancayo	3	2	1	0	5-1	7
7	Alianza Lima	4	2	1	1	3-1	7
8	Cienciano	4	1	3	0	6-3	6
9	Carlos A. Mannucci	4	2	0	2	4-4	6
10	ADT Tarma	3	2	0	1	4-5	6
11	Universidad César Vallejo	4	2	0	2	3-6	6
12	Cusco FC	3	1	1	1	3-4	4
13	Deportivo Municipal	4	1	0	3	3-3	3
14	UTC Cajamarca	4	0	3	1	4-5	3
15	Academia Cantolao	4	1	0	3	3-8	3
16	Atlético Grau	4	1	0	3	2-8	3
17	Alianza Atlético	4	0	1	3	2-6	1
18	Deportivo Binacional	3	0	0	3	2-9	0
19	Unión Comercio	4	0	0	4	1-9	0

 

Rules for classification (except for first place): 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) drawing of lots.

A play-off is needed to decide the winner if two or more teams are tied on points on top of the table at the end of the tournament.

 

Round 5 (21-24 July 2023)

 

Unión Comercio – Universidad César Vallejo

Cienciano – Sport Huancayo

Alianza Atlético – Cusco FC

ADT Tarma – Atlético Grau

Alianza Lima – Universitario de Deportes

Academia Cantolao – UTC Cajamarca

Carlos A. Mannucci – Sport Boys

FBC Melgar – Sporting Cristal

Deportivo Binacional – Deportivo Municipal

Deportivo Garcilaso bye

 

Aggregate table (Apertura + Clausura)

 

1	Alianza Lima (AW)	22	16	1	5	40-17	49	Qualified for the play-offs & CL
2	Sporting Cristal	22	12	9	1	41-20	45	Qualified for the play-offs & CL
3	Universitario de Deportes	22	14	2	6	38-16	44	Qualified for Copa Libertadores
4	Cusco FC	21	11	3	7	27-26	36	Qualified for Copa Libertadores
5	FBC Melgar	22	9	8	5	34-24	35	Qualified for C. Sudamericana
6	Sport Huancayo	21	10	4	7	35-26	34	Qualified for C. Sudamericana
7	Universidad César Vallejo	22	9	6	7	28-29	33	Qualified for C. Sudamericana
8	Carlos A. Mannucci	22	10	3	9	21-22	33	Qualified for C. Sudamericana
9	Deportivo Garcilaso	22	8	8	6	41-32	32
10	Cienciano	22	8	6	8	29-31	30
11	ADT Tarma	21	7	6	8	27-28	27
12	Sport Boys	22	8	3	11	17-28	27
13	Atlético Grau	22	7	5	10	33-29	26
14	Alianza Atlético	22	6	6	10	34-39	24
15	UTC Cajamarca	22	5	9	8	20-27	24
16	Deportivo Municipal *	22	8	3	11	22-24	21	*
17	Unión Comercio	22	5	4	13	25-49	19	Relegation to Second Division
18	Deportivo Binacional	21	5	3	13	30-43	18	Relegation to Second Division
19	Academia Cantolao	22	3	3	16	12-44	12	Relegation to Second Division

 

* Deportivo Municipal have been deducted 6 points for financial irregularities.

AW – Apertura winners

CW – Clausura winners

Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) drawing of lots; 5) play-off (only if needed to decide teams for relegation)

Bourj and Safa out of the Federation Cup, Nejmeh through to semifinals

Bourj - Safa 1-1 (0-1)

Houssem Louati 90'+5' - Jordi Dennis 42'.

Wednesday, 12 July 2023, 5 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Amin Abdelnour Stadium, Bhamdoun (Aley), Lebanon, round 3 of Federation Cup, Group D.

 Bourj starting line-up. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

Safa starting line-up. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

In terms related to the Federation Cup, the calculations before this game were simple: Bourj needed to win at least by two goals in order to qualify for the semifinals. Any other result would have meant that Nejmeh qualify, as they had 4 points, drawing 0-0 to Bourj and winning 2-0 over Safa. 

In the field, things looked quite different. Safa, although without any chance to qualify, did not want to finish the competition with two defeats, so they gave an excellent reply and were very close to win the game. Bourj only equalized in stoppage time when it was too late for anything else.

Bilal Sabbagh (with the ball) leading one of the Bourj attacks. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

Bourj attacked almost all the time, but to no avail. Their offensive force relied almost exclusively on Houssem Louati, who had two good chances in the first 15 minutes. Ali Merkabaoui also escaped one on one with Safa's goalkeeper, but missed the shot entirely (18'). The newly-arrived Senegalese striker Aboubakar Camara showed good qualities in terms of strength and speed, but did not contribute to goals, and not even to offensive actions. 

Safa played cleverly, as they defended in a very organized manner and launched several attacks or counterattacks meant to surprise the opponents. In one of these occasions, the ball circulated very well upfront, reaching Jordi Dennis, whose long-range shot found the target to the right of the goalkeeper: 0-1 (42').

Safa players celebrated the opening goal of the match. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

The second half belonged almost exclusively to Bourj, which dominated the game in all aspects, but seemed unable to score. Their greatest chance came from a set piece, namely a free kick, executed by Houssem Louati into the crossbar (53').

Bourj attack improved with the introduction of Abou Baker Al Mel, Mohamad Saleh or Ali Chaito. Nevertheless, Safa goalkeeper made a great match, saving everything that could be saved. Bourj attackers were imprecise or their shots were blocked or saved.

Shadi Skaf (Bourj) with the ball. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

Defeat was eventually avoided in stoppage time. A long throw in from the right side managed to reach Khodor Hallak in the box, who headed towards his back, and Houssem Louati headed home from short range: 1-1 (90'+5').

It was a mere consolation goal for Bourj, which finished their participation in the Federation Cup undefeated, but also without winning a single match.

Bourj starting line-up: Ali Halal - Mohamad El Dor, Khodor Hallak, Shadi Skaf, Mohamed Zein Tahan - Mohamad El Faour, Mohamad Sibaii "Wartan" - Ali Merkabaoui, Bilal Sabbagh, Houssem Louati - Aboubakar Camara. Manager: Hussein Tahan.

As pointed out earlier, Bourj are still in a disadvantaged position compared to the previous season, as some of their best players left, and not equally good players joined in. The only exception, so far, seems to be Houssem Louati, but just one player is not enough to create danger to the opposite goal. Bourj are in big need of a striker, a classic no. 9, who may be the Senegalese Aboubakar Camara, if his form improves. As yet, he seems unable to score. There is also a need for an offensive central midfielder, a classic no. 10. Houssem Louati does not play normally in that position, since he is rather a winger. Of course, there is need for another winger, on the other side. The left back may also be a problem, since Youssef Anbar is injured (again). Mohamad Zein Tahan played in that position, which is clearly not for him. Solutions should be found soon.

Final table of Group D: Nejmeh 4 points, Bourj 2 points, Safa 1 point. Nejmeh qualified for the semifinals, where they will face Al Ahed. The other semifinal will feature the two newly-promoted teams, Al Ahly Nabatieh and Racing.