Tolima surpasses Junior and qualifies for the group stage of the Cup

Junior is out of the Copa Sudamericana. Tolima was superior and defeated him 1-0 thanks to the score by Junior Hernández, who was unstoppable in his area. The Barranquilleros were erratic, without depth in their lead, they added a new defeat in the era of Arturo Reyes and the crisis continues.

Junior Hernández, very good on the left wing. He was the main weapon for the locals in the first half with his quick raids. One of them ended in the opening of the scoring after a great collective action on the left wing. Walmer Pacheco and Iván Scarpeta meet They slept and the winger took the opportunity to get comfortable and put the ball at an impossible angle for Sebastián Viera.

With the first goal, Tolima continued to impose their game and the first 20 minutes were all for those led by Hernán Torres. so much so Arturo Reyes had to move the bench and take Jhon Vélez and Luis Sandoval out of the game to make way for Luis González and Didier Moreno. With the experienced he retook control in the middle.

However, he never found clarity on the attack front. Juan Fernando Quintero’s touches of magic were not enough to connect with Omar Albornoz and Carlos Bacca. Each attempt of the 10 ended in a rejection by the defense. A free-kick shot was the only option for the midfielder who assisted González at the end, but the goalkeeper Cuesta appeared to avoid the tie.

Quintero’s talent is not enough and Tolima qualifies

Junior continued with the same tonic in the complementary stage. He had the ball until the second third of the field and the Tolimense defense stopped one and again to Quintero, Bacca and Albornoz. Reyes moved the bench again with the entry of León for Bacca and Vladimir Hernández for Albornoz. Despite this, the local team never suffered.

Torres wanted to put more power on his attack front and took out Brayan Gil for Juan Fernando Caicedo who bothered the central Barranquilleros with his pressure. Juan David Ríos took the lead in half of the Ibaguereños and tried a couple of times with his middle distance, but the ball went wide on every attempt. Sosa was the most incisive for the local band, although it was not his best night.

Cuesta, important for Tolima’s classification

In the end, the goalkeeper Cuesta was the great figure with his saves that prevented the tie when his team got behind settling for the minimum advantage. León, Quintero and Didier were able to celebrate, but the goalkeeper was huge and made the most of his talent to avoid the fall of his goal.

Once again, Junior is left out of international tournaments and his main objective, For which they brought Juan Fernando Quintero, it will remain in the archive and to think about the rest of the BetPlay League in this 2023. Tolima is still alive in the South American Cup and will now wait for the draw for the group stage to meet their next rivals.

Uncertain future for Arturo Reyes at the rojiblanco bank. 2023, which looked promising for Junior with the arrival of Quintero and the other reinforcements, has been full of doubts and mistakes. A single victory, by League against Equidad, and six defeats are the balance so far when better results were expected.