Talleres de Córdoba, which was already qualified for the round of 16, beat Universidad Católica de Chile tonight as a visitor, 1-0, which will continue its path in the Copa Sudamericana, in a match of the sixth and last date of Group H.
Offensive midfielder Matías Esquivel, 16 minutes into the second half, established the lonely difference at the San Carlos de Apoquindo stadium.
The first two positions and qualification for the round of 16 were already immovable for Flamengo and Talleres before the start of the last day. The Chileans wanted to maintain their third position to access the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
Despite the defeat, Universidad Católica kept that third position, since Sporting Cristal could not during their visit to Brazil, and fell to the Rio de Janeiro team 2-1, who scored through Mauricio Isla and Pedro, in so much so that the Peruvians discounted with a goal from Cristian González.
The Group H positions were headed by Flamengo with 16 points, followed by Talleres (11), Universidad Católica (4) and Sporting Cristal (2).
On the night in Santiago, the visiting team dominated the actions for much of the first half, with high pressure that allowed them to quickly recover the ball. Talleres had clear chances to open the scoring, but goalkeeper Sebastián Pérez responded well to shots from Héctor Fértoli and Esquivel, while Gastón Benavídez and Federico Girotti narrowly deflected each shot.
The Chileans found their game, they waited retracted near their goal, and so it was that against them they had a very clear situation when the first half was over. But the goalkeeper Guido Herrera showed off and covered a one-on-one with Marcelino Núñez, who had climbed the field from the left.
The development of the complement changed substantially: ‘U’ Católica went out in search of victory, became strong in the middle and brought danger to Herrera’s goal, which responded solidly to a shot by Gonzalo Tapia.
The hot flash passed and the ‘T’ was rearranged, which He found the opening of the scoreboard with a goal from Esquivel, who capitalized on a ball that had come over the top, and -without hesitation- took a precise left-footed shot that went very far, next to Pérez’s left post for 1-0.
The Cordovan cast did not experience major shocks in the final minutes. The team led by the Argentine Ariel Holan (former Independiente) did not find ways to break the good visiting defense, which was closed and held on to a victory that served to decorate a great participation in the group stage.
The ‘T’ ended with three wins, two draws and one loss, and they celebrated with their fans, who came in large numbers to the Chilean capital for the classification they had already secured a week ago.
