SPECIAL ENVOY TO COLOMBIA
After playing the best first half in the cycle that has Sebastián “Chirola” Romero in charge, a period in which he took a goal ahead through Alan Lescano, Gimnasia had to suffer a defeat on the hour in the height of Bogotá , because Independiente Santa Fe de Colombia overflowed it in the complementary stage, and after Kevin Mantilla’s equalizer, with a header, Hugo Radallega, in injury time, sealed the 2-1 lead in the match that launched Group G of the Copa Sudamericana, completed by Universitario from Peru and Goiás from Brazil, who will meet tomorrow in Lima.
El Lobo, who was defeated at home in his debut against Universitario, will present himself again for this continental contest on Thursday, May 4, against Goiás, in El Bosque, but first he will have to visit Argentinos and receive Tigre for the Professional League , a competition in which they have been relegated after the defeats experienced the previous week against River and Belgrano.
Gymnastics surprised, particularly Independiente Santa Fe, with its initial position: 4-2-3-1 was the scheme chosen, with the addition of a very ambitious attitude, which from the start only allowed him to reach the edge of the ball with the ball. area. The Colombian team, although with a similar distribution of players, was left behind on the field, with no chance of gaining meters from an associated game.
The 11 presented by Sebastián Romero was affirmed from a last line made up of Bautista Barros Schelotto, Leonardo Morales and Matías Melluso; he tried to reduce the spaces and recover in the middle with the duo Ignacio Miramón-Agustín Bolivar; he tried to arm the attacks with a second line of midfielders made up of Franco Soldano, Alan Lescano and Nicolás Colazo; and as the main attack reference, Cristian Tarragona.
The first in-depth play of the night, around the first quarter of an hour, showed the conformation of the match: Gimnasia handling the field and the ball against an Independiente Santa Fe coming out against. Precisely along this route, and exploiting the right lane, the one occupied by Hugo Radallega, he approached through a cross ball.
The disorder in the occupation of the spaces by the home team led the game, which showed two long teams, who tried to prosper on the field with long passes, a good part of them with the category of balls. In this framework, the Wolf arrived with a shot from outside, by Tarragona, deflected, who had previously connected with a header; while on the return, a set piece play allowed José Enamorado to look for the goal, from behind, with a “Chilean”, which made the ball explode off the crossbar.
The pitch, in poor condition, and the effects of height, were details that contributed to tone down the game, which in any case allowed Gimnasia to be seen in better condition, which was certified after 30 minutes, when Lescano , from the edge of the box, almost spiked the ball at an angle. He didn’t go in by inches.
Miramón and Bolivar imposed conditions in the central strip, to recover, and from there Colazo and Lescano entered action, very determined, and in second instance Tarragona. A header from Sánchez, which the goalkeeper managed to take out above the horizontal, was another clear situation in favor of the Tripero team.
It ended up being the announcement of the first goal of the night, within the framework of an action shared by Tarragona, Soldano, Colazo and Lescano, who with his head, and on the verge of being advanced, shouted the 1-0 score, which the VAR put on. a share of suspense when evaluating the positions of Colazo and Lescano.
Without solid arguments, but with greater determination, Independiente Santa Fe began to control the situation in the complementary stage, and in the absence of combinations, he sought to enter the defensive structure that awaited him through long deliveries, balls and crosses. And a set piece play, from a corner kick, executed from the right, cost Gimnasia the tie, because Mantilla, without a mark, connected with his head and an error was repeated that, for some time now , the albiazules are costing goals.
That good level of play exhibited in the initial stage was largely canceled out by the fatigue inherent in the circumstances that surrounded the match and when the tie seemed sealed, a bad start from the bottom cost the albiazules a defeat that complicated their future in Group G of a South American Cup in which Lobo was left with no margin of error.
In the second half, a team was seen cornered against their goal, escaping due to some saves from the goalkeeper, who in the last ball of the night, when Leonardo Morales, injured, was no longer on the pitch, could do nothing to avoid the pain of a new drop.
The injury that made Morales leave in the second half set off the alarms in Lobo
VIDEOS.- Facundo Aché from Bogotá
