He Junior won its eleventh Colombian league title this Tuesday by beating 0-1 as a visitor to Sports Tolima in the second leg of the Finalization Tournament final, to end the series with a 0-4 overall score.
The Barranquilla team, led by the Uruguayan Alfredo Ariastook the victory with a goal from winger José Enamorado, who had already scored two goals in the first leg, and celebrated a new league title at the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium, which also grants them a direct place in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.
Coach Arias, for his part, won his first title in Colombia after having been runner-up in 2023 with Deportivo Independiente Medellín and having remembered steps in Deportivo Cali and Independiente Santa Fe.
With three goals to come back from, Tolima went out to look for the first goal very quickly and had two opportunities in the first minutes, the first with a corner kick taken by midfielder Brayan Rovira, which demanded the Uruguayan goalkeeper Mauro Silveira, and a shot in the area by winger Jersson González, which was cleared by midfielder Didier Moreno.
However, in their eagerness to attack the hosts left many spaces for the counterattack that Junior began to take advantage of.
The first clear opportunity for the visitors came in the eighth minute when winger Bryan Castrillón was one-on-one with Uruguayan goalkeeper Cristopher Fiermarín, who prevailed and prevented the attacker from celebrating.
The only goal of the game came in the 15th minute in another lethal counterattack in which midfielder Yimmi Chará filtered a pass for Enamorado, who was faster than the local center backs and chipped the ball to overcome Fiermarín’s resistance.
Those led by Arias managed the ball and with it the difference against a rival who was petrified with Enamorado’s goal.
However, the hosts took a breather in the 41st minute when Paraguayan attacker Guillermo Paiva attacked Tolima center back Marlon Torres and referee Andrés Rojas sent him off.
Tolima attacked again and was about to score in the 41st minute with a shot by midfielder Kevin Pérez, which Silveira saved, and another by winger Samuel Velásquez, which went wide.
For the second half, the match maintained the tone and Tolima had its clearest opportunity in the 61st minute when Velásquez, who was another attacker today, took a very strong shot that crashed into the post.
As the minutes passed, the locals lost momentum, the visitors managed, under the leadership of veteran Teófilo Gutiérrez who entered in the 64th minute, and Junior de Barranquilla celebrated a new league title, won with great authority after dominating the two games of the series.
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Technical sheet:
0. Sports Tolima: Cristopher Fiermarín; Yhormar Hurtado, Marlon Torres, Anderson Angulo, Samuel Velásquez; Brayan Rovira (m.74, Jader Quiñones), Juan Pablo Nieto (m.55, Juan Pablo Torres), Jerson González (m.73, Yoimar Moreno), Kevin Pérez (m.62, Gonzalo Lencina), Mauricio González, and Adrián Parra.
Coach: Lucas González.
1. Junior: Mauro Silveira; Jhonier Guerrero (m.66, Edwin Herrera), Lucas Monzón, Jermein Peña, Yeison Suárez; Didier Moreno, Jesús Rivas (m.64, Carlos Esparragoza), Yimmi Chará (m.73, Javier Báez); Bryan Castrillón (m.46, Guillermo Celis), José Enamorado (m.64, Teófilo Gutiérrez) and Guillermo Paiva.
Coach: Alfredo Arias.
Goal: 0-1, m.17: José Enamorado.
Referee: Andrés Rojas. He expelled Guillermo Paiva and reprimanded Rovira, Torres, Velásquez, Quiñones, Gutiérrez and Rodríguez.
Incidents: second leg of the final of the Colombia Finalization Tournament, played at the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium in Ibagué.
