There was to see him with shin guards. There was more rugby than football. More yawns than emotions. More kicks than dribbles. La Equidad and Junior tied 0-0 in a monotonous, rustic and bland match that left the Copa Sudamericana initial phase series completely open ahead of the second leg in Barranquilla, next Thursday.
Zero in everything at the El Campín stadium, except in arbitration interventions. 21 fouls were called by those led by Alexis García against 12 by Juan Cruz Real’s men.
The initial stage was a yawn factory. The perfect remedy for insomnia. La Equidad tried to squeeze and subdue Junior in the first minutes, reloading his attacks through the sector of a hesitant Gabriel Fuentes, fighting with everything the second play and preventing the exit from the bottom (almost always with a foul).
Joan Castro, a player who trained with the ‘Tiburones’, was the protagonist of the permanent infractions of the premises without the Uruguayan referee Gustavo Tejera reprimanding him. Fourteen fouls were committed by the ‘Insurers’ against four of the ‘Sharks’ in the first period.
In the midst of impunity in the face of the cunning and fastidious style of the host team, Junior had a hard time associating, developing and visiting the goal guarded by Sergio Román. Edwuin Cetré and Hinestroza appeared unsuccessfully, ‘Cariaco’ González saw himself drop by dropper and Miguel Borja succumbed as an orphan.
Beyond a few attempts by Fabián Viáfara on the right, Junior regulated himself (perhaps taking into account the height) and only came once with real danger, in a corner kick in which Borja brought out his powerful header. The frentazo of the Cordovan quoted the ball with the net, but Roman put his hand in it to suppress the celebration.
That impact with Borja’s head, a shot by Carlos Rivas that Sebastián Viera rejected towards the corner, and stop counting. It was the only thing. No more emotions were presented in the areas.
