With a triplet from Carmelo, Junior scores and is still alive in the Cup

Junior from Barranquilla returned to the Metropolitan Stadium for the Copa Libertadores. On September 20, he defeated Águilas Doradas in his stadium for the BetPlay League after a long stop due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, Independiente del Valle was his rival and the challenge, to get the three points against a tough rival so as not to get more complicated in group A of the continental tournament.

After the departure of Julio Comesaña, Luis Amaranto Perea and Luis Grau were in charge of the team and in their hands the responsibility of making the Junior qualify for the next phase of the Libertadores, an objective that they had to begin to fulfill with a triumph against the Ecuadorian team.

The game started evenly. With few risk arrivals from the two teams. The locals tried to have the ball in the opposite field with the attackers Cetré, Cárdenas, Hinestroza and Valencia, but it was difficult for them to settle down to have depth. For their part, the visitors found an orderly Junior defense that did not let Faravelli think and that he controlled Gabriel Torres well.

Junior had the first at minute 15 when An error in the defense of Independiente del Valle left Carmelo Solo with goalkeeper Pinos, but the forward wasted in front of the goal alone. And just as Valencia was wrong, the rival was right.

At minute 19, Independiente del Valle celebrated. Gabriel Torres only had to push the ball after a very good individual play by Murillo that left Danny Rosero behind that he couldn’t do anything to stop it. 0 to 1 and Junior had to react.

The first half ended with Junior released for the tie, taking advantage of the still ball to disturb the opponent’s defense, but without scoring. IDV handled the onslaught of the premises, until minute 41 when Carmelo Valencia was finally able to overcome the resistance of the visitors and scored the tie.

Junior came out much better in the second half and so the reward came early. Wanting to win, Amaranto’s team went forward, knew how to counter the defensive approach of those led by Miguel Ángel Ramírez and scored the second goal.

Carmelo Valencia repeated. The Junior forward moved behind the defenders’ back and defined very well when he saw the goalkeeper leave after an assist from Cetré. Junior knew how to handle the advantage, but he also saw risk in Viera’s goal against defensive errors and quiet ball.

Knowing how to get out of the situations that IDV presented in the goal of the premises and the forcefulness of Carmelo Valencia, gave Junior the third goal. The forward removed the brand from the defenders, finished off with a left foot and celebrated the triplet.

Carmelo Valencia was replaced at minute 83 by Michael Rangel, but Hinestroza was left, who marked the fourth and final for the locals.

With this result, Junior de Barranquilla is in third place in Group A with six points as a result of two games won and two lost. The leader continues to be Independiente del Valle, followed by Flamengo. On the next date, Junior will receive Barcelona on the Metro, in a game that will be played on September 30.