Weekend marked by tragedy as 16 fans died in bus accident.
The third weekend of Chile’s national Apertura tournament was soured by a tragic bus accident that left 16 dead – including one baby – and 20 injured. The bus was reportedly carrying 37 O’Higgins fans and was 10 people over capacity when it fell 500 feet into a ravine near Concepción, about 300 miles south of Santiago. A funeral for 14 of the victims was planned for Monday in the O’Higgins El Teniente Stadium.
Audax Italiano 1 – 1 San Marcos de Arica
Despite being a man short for most of the game, San Marcos was able to hold Audax Italiano to a draw in Santiago’s La Florida borough Friday night.
The first half was not kind to the visitors. Federico Scoppa was expelled in the 34th minute on a second yellow for fouling Audax’s Francisco Gaete and Sebastián Sáez was able to convert the resulting penalty into the first point of the game.
Despite the deficit, San Marcos was managed to pull off a comeback in the second through José Pedroso, who made the score 1-1 in the 68th minute.
Huachipato 0 – 2 O’Higgins
O’Higgins marked its second win of the Apertura season against Huachipato Friday, propelling them to number five overall in the rankings. Last season’s champs, on the other hand, seem to have lost their mojo, and now sit only two spots above the league’s bottom slot.
O’Higgins strikers Gonzalo Barriga and Juan Rodrigo Rojas earned the only two points of the game in the 26th and 61st minute, respectively.
Huachipato will now head to Porto Alegre to face off against Brazilian club Grêmio Thursday in the international Copa Libertadores, and will be hoping to bring a much fiercer game that what was seen Friday night.
Iquique 2 – 1 Colo Colo
The headache continues for Colo Colo head coach Omar Labruna, who now once again finds his team with a losing record after Saturday’s game against Iquique.
Iquique, on the other hand, finds itself in good form as the team prepares to receive Urugay’s Peñarol Wednesday in their third Copa Libertadores match.
Iquique striker Manuel Villalobos opened up the scoring in the 52nd minute, and team captain Rodrigo “Rengo” Díaz piled on minutes later, sinking a shot from outside the area to double the lead.
Colo Colo barely managed to avoid the shutout thanks to midfielder Emiliano Vecchio, who converted a penalty in the 77th minute from 12 yards out.
Universidad de Chile 0 – 3 Unión Española
Unión Española achieved another unexpected victory against Universidad de Chile on Saturday, having also eliminated La U from last season’s playoffs.
Española’s Diego Scotti opened up the scoring in the 41st minute, followed only three minutes later by Oscar Hernández, who made the score 2-0.
La U came out in the second half with a more aggressive offense, but they once again failed to score. Then, in the 73rd minute, Española striker Francisco Castro converted a penalty to make it 3-0 Española, sending his former team slumping back to the locker rooms.
Despite the poor showing, La U will have a chance at redemption Tuesday as they confront Venezuela’s Club Deportivo in the Copa Libertadores, which they won in 2012.
Santiago Wanderers 3-4 Unión La Calera
La Calera got the best of Wanderers in a game loaded with offense Saturday night. Arnaldo Gimenez opened the scoring for the visitors only three minutes in, only to be answered 10 minutes later by Wanderers striker Matías Donoso. Ariel Cólzera registered another goal in the 16th minute to make it 2-1 Wanderers, and Leandro Benegas responded to tie it up at 2-2 before the half.
Wanderers started the scoring in the second half through Jefferson Castillo and looked like they would be taking the match until Fabián Beas tied it up again in the 75th minute and Benegas registered his second goal of the game with only two minutes of time left, ending the score at 4-3 La Calera.
Cobresal 0 – 1 Everton
Primera league newcomer Everton continued to make a name for themselves Sunday, registering their second straight win and placing third in the overall rankings. While Everton has yet to lose a game, Cobresal has yet to win one, and is still stuck in last place.
After a largely uneventful first half, both teams seemingly became desperate to score and the game took an uglier turn in the second. After Diego Barrios scored the first and only goal of the game in the 73rd minute, Cobresal’s Luis Alegría was sent home on a second yellow, followed 10 minutes later by Everton’s Orlando Gutiérrez, who received a straight red.
Antofagasta 0 – 0 Cobreloa
Though unable to gain a definitive upper hand, Cobreloa maintained its spot at the top of the rankings after Sunday’s draw with Antofagasta.
Cobreloa striker and Apertura high-scorer Miguel Ángel Cuéllar looked hungry for more goals, but in the end, he was unable to register points in a game that went almost entirely to the defense.
Palestino 0 – 1 Ñublense
In what seemed like it would end as a scoreless game, Ñublense managed to pull out a win against Palestino with a last-minute goal from striker Javier Grbec, who made his second game-changing goal of the season for Ñublense.
Rangers 0 – 3 Universidad Católica
Universidad Católica shot up to second place after their match against Rangers Sunday, which proved to be embarrassing to the home team.
Rangers were off to a bad start after defender Francisco Tapia scored an own goal in the 26th minute and Católica striker Carlos Bueno doubled his team’s lead seven minutes later. To make matters worse, Rangers were left a man short after midfielder Juan Silva was expelled just before the half.
Despite having only ten men, Rangers made a noble effort to stand their ground in the second half, and they managed to keep Católica at bay until midfielder Fernando Cordero finally broke through in the 76th minute to make it 3-0.
Upcoming matches:
Friday 15/02, 7:30 p.m. – O’Higgins vs. Palestino
Friday 15/02, 8 p.m. – Unión Española vs. Audax Italiano
Saturday 16/02, 4 p.m. – Everton vs. Universidad de Chile
Saturday 16/02, 6:30 p.m. – Unión La Calera vs. Deportes Iquique
Saturday 16/02, 9 p.m. – Universidad Católica vs. Antofagasta
Saturday 16/02, 10 p.m. – San Marcos de Arica vs. Ñublense
Sunday 17/02, 4 p.m. – Cobresal vs. Rangers
Sunday 17/02, 4 p.m. – Cobreloa vs. Huachipato
Sunday 17/02, 6:30 p.m. – Colo Colo vs. Santiago Wanderers
The third weekend of Chile’s national Apertura tournament was soured by a tragic bus accident that left 16 dead – including one baby – and 20 injured. The bus was reportedly carrying 37 O’Higgins fans and was 10 people over capacity when it fell 500 feet into a ravine near Concepción, about 300 miles south of Santiago. A funeral for 14 of the victims was planned for Monday in the O’Higgins El Teniente Stadium.
Audax Italiano 1 – 1 San Marcos de AricaDespite being a man short for most of the game, San Marcos was able to hold Audax Italiano to a draw in Santiago’s La Florida borough Friday night.
The first half was not kind to the visitors. Federico Scoppa was expelled in the 34th minute on a second yellow for fouling Audax’s Francisco Gaete and Sebastián Sáez was able to convert the resulting penalty into the first point of the game.
Despite the deficit, San Marcos was managed to pull off a comeback in the second through José Pedroso, who made the score 1-1 in the 68th minute.
Huachipato 0 – 2 O’Higgins
O’Higgins marked its second win of the Apertura season against Huachipato Friday, propelling them to number five overall in the rankings. Last season’s champs, on the other hand, seem to have lost their mojo, and now sit only two spots above the league’s bottom slot.
O’Higgins strikers Gonzalo Barriga and Juan Rodrigo Rojas earned the only two points of the game in the 26th and 61st minute, respectively.
Huachipato will now head to Porto Alegre to face off against Brazilian club Grêmio Thursday in the international Copa Libertadores, and will be hoping to bring a much fiercer game that what was seen Friday night.
Iquique 2 – 1 Colo Colo
The headache continues for Colo Colo head coach Omar Labruna, who now once again finds his team with a losing record after Saturday’s game against Iquique.
Iquique, on the other hand, finds itself in good form as the team prepares to receive Urugay’s Peñarol Wednesday in their third Copa Libertadores match.
Iquique striker Manuel Villalobos opened up the scoring in the 52nd minute, and team captain Rodrigo “Rengo” Díaz piled on minutes later, sinking a shot from outside the area to double the lead.
Colo Colo barely managed to avoid the shutout thanks to midfielder Emiliano Vecchio, who converted a penalty in the 77th minute from 12 yards out.
Universidad de Chile 0 – 3 Unión Española
Unión Española achieved another unexpected victory against Universidad de Chile on Saturday, having also eliminated La U from last season’s playoffs.
Española’s Diego Scotti opened up the scoring in the 41st minute, followed only three minutes later by Oscar Hernández, who made the score 2-0.
La U came out in the second half with a more aggressive offense, but they once again failed to score. Then, in the 73rd minute, Española striker Francisco Castro converted a penalty to make it 3-0 Española, sending his former team slumping back to the locker rooms.
Despite the poor showing, La U will have a chance at redemption Tuesday as they confront Venezuela’s Club Deportivo in the Copa Libertadores, which they won in 2012.
Santiago Wanderers 3-4 Unión La Calera
La Calera got the best of Wanderers in a game loaded with offense Saturday night. Arnaldo Gimenez opened the scoring for the visitors only three minutes in, only to be answered 10 minutes later by Wanderers striker Matías Donoso. Ariel Cólzera registered another goal in the 16th minute to make it 2-1 Wanderers, and Leandro Benegas responded to tie it up at 2-2 before the half.
Wanderers started the scoring in the second half through Jefferson Castillo and looked like they would be taking the match until Fabián Beas tied it up again in the 75th minute and Benegas registered his second goal of the game with only two minutes of time left, ending the score at 4-3 La Calera.
Cobresal 0 – 1 Everton
Primera league newcomer Everton continued to make a name for themselves Sunday, registering their second straight win and placing third in the overall rankings. While Everton has yet to lose a game, Cobresal has yet to win one, and is still stuck in last place.
After a largely uneventful first half, both teams seemingly became desperate to score and the game took an uglier turn in the second. After Diego Barrios scored the first and only goal of the game in the 73rd minute, Cobresal’s Luis Alegría was sent home on a second yellow, followed 10 minutes later by Everton’s Orlando Gutiérrez, who received a straight red.
Antofagasta 0 – 0 Cobreloa
Though unable to gain a definitive upper hand, Cobreloa maintained its spot at the top of the rankings after Sunday’s draw with Antofagasta.
Cobreloa striker and Apertura high-scorer Miguel Ángel Cuéllar looked hungry for more goals, but in the end, he was unable to register points in a game that went almost entirely to the defense.
Palestino 0 – 1 Ñublense
In what seemed like it would end as a scoreless game, Ñublense managed to pull out a win against Palestino with a last-minute goal from striker Javier Grbec, who made his second game-changing goal of the season for Ñublense.
Rangers 0 – 3 Universidad Católica
Universidad Católica shot up to second place after their match against Rangers Sunday, which proved to be embarrassing to the home team.
Rangers were off to a bad start after defender Francisco Tapia scored an own goal in the 26th minute and Católica striker Carlos Bueno doubled his team’s lead seven minutes later. To make matters worse, Rangers were left a man short after midfielder Juan Silva was expelled just before the half.
Despite having only ten men, Rangers made a noble effort to stand their ground in the second half, and they managed to keep Católica at bay until midfielder Fernando Cordero finally broke through in the 76th minute to make it 3-0.
Upcoming matches:
Friday 15/02, 7:30 p.m. – O’Higgins vs. Palestino
Friday 15/02, 8 p.m. – Unión Española vs. Audax Italiano
Saturday 16/02, 4 p.m. – Everton vs. Universidad de Chile
Saturday 16/02, 6:30 p.m. – Unión La Calera vs. Deportes Iquique
Saturday 16/02, 9 p.m. – Universidad Católica vs. Antofagasta
Saturday 16/02, 10 p.m. – San Marcos de Arica vs. Ñublense
Sunday 17/02, 4 p.m. – Cobresal vs. Rangers
Sunday 17/02, 4 p.m. – Cobreloa vs. Huachipato
Sunday 17/02, 6:30 p.m. – Colo Colo vs. Santiago Wanderers
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