Medellin seized opportunities to defeat 2-1 to Junior de Barranquilla in the quarterfinals of the BetPlay Cup and qualify for the semifinal phase.
Agustín Vuletich and Leonardo Castro scored for the Antioqueños, while Miguel Ángel Borja scored for the ‘sharks’.
In the first minutes, the match did not register dangerous actions in the goals and both teams fought to dominate the ball and impose conditions in the middle of the court.
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The first action was in minute 32 and was in favor of Junior. Gabriel Fuentes overflowed down the left wing until he reached the baseline where he sent a creeping pass to the penalty spot where Didier Moreno appeared to finish off, but the ball went wide.
Medellín reacted in the 33rd minute, Robert Alexander Harris tried to surprise Sebastián Viera with a mid-range shot that did not have an arc direction.
Those led by Hernán Darío ‘bolillo’ Gómez generated danger again. On this occasion it was Javier Reina who enabled Agustín Vuletich, who finished first, but Viera stretched and saved Junior’s gate.
The opening of the scoreboard was recorded in minute 44 and was in favor of Junior. Fredy Hinestroza overflowed down the left wing to launch an air center bound Miguel Angel Borja, who won the position from Andrés Cadavid and with a superb shot he celebrated the partial 0-1.
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In the second half, Medellín reacted and seven minutes after the restart whistle achieved the tie. German Gutierrez starred in a good individual action by leaving four rivals on the road until he made a space and sent the center so that Agustín Vuletich headed against the ground and scored the 1-1.
The emotions of the commitment continued and both teams tried to associate their most important players to generate danger, but when they approached the final meters they were imprecise to define.
In the final minutes both Medellín and Junior went to tactical changes with the aim of surprising the rival and finding the score that gave them the victory, but the defensive order prevailed until the 88th minute Leonardo Castro unlocked the result.
Castro took advantage of a filtered pass to win the back of the visiting defense and in this way enter the area and take a comfortable shot from the right that sentenced the Antioquia victory.
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