Chilean champions brought effort, but were not rewarded.
Huachipato lost its second game in a row to Brazilian side Fluminense in the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday night. The 2-1 defeat narrows the chances for the Chilean champions to advance to the next round.
Coming late into the stadium and forcing the game to start with delay, Fluminense seemed to be still in the locker room for the first seven minutes.
But after a chance by striker Fred, the reigning Brazilian champions found their way into the game and gained more possessions to create a balanced game.
After a long cross pass, Huachipato’s goalkeeper Nery Veloso continued his series of awkward actions from the last game in the 19th minute. He tried to kick away the ball with both feet in the air, instead of going for the easy save with his hands. Luckily Fluminenses’ offense was so puzzled by this move that no one could turn the obvious chance into a goal.
In the 36th minute Fluminense had an even better opportunity, having already outplayed its Chilean opponent’s defense and goalkeeper. This time, though, the goal post denied mid-fielder Wellington his point.
Just as it was close to becoming a scoreless first half, Huachipato’s Braian Rodríguez received a well-timed pass in the middle of the penalty box. He brought things to 1-0 for his squad which remained the score at halftime.
In the second half, the Brazilian side increased its pressure and give itself a couple of good chances while forcing Huachipato to limit its offensive output to mostly just free kicks.
After a chest pass by Fred to Wellington in the 66th minute, Fluminense started to look still more alive. Wellington shot a volley into the left upper corner and left Veloso this time without any chance.
For a short moment it seemed Huachipato could answer right away. Federico Falcone received a long pass in the penalty box but his shot went well over the goal.
Instead, in 75th minute Fluminense changed the score to its favor. Huachipato’s defense could not clear the ball fast enough, giving Fluminense striker Wagner the chance to hit the ball directly into the right corner.
From then on, Huachipato tried to change the score. But the effort did not pay off and the Chileans could not earn a tie against Fluminense. Huachipato has dropped now to the last place in its group. Reaching the next round in the competition will be difficult for the Chilean club, if not impossible.
Huachipato will seek to redeem itself on March 6 as the team once again faces off against Fluminense in Brazil.
By Haluka Maier-Borst (mborst@santiagotimes.cl)
Copyright 2013 - The Santiago Times
Editor's note: this article has been updated.
Huachipato lost its second game in a row to Brazilian side Fluminense in the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday night. The 2-1 defeat narrows the chances for the Chilean champions to advance to the next round.
Coming late into the stadium and forcing the game to start with delay, Fluminense seemed to be still in the locker room for the first seven minutes.But after a chance by striker Fred, the reigning Brazilian champions found their way into the game and gained more possessions to create a balanced game.
After a long cross pass, Huachipato’s goalkeeper Nery Veloso continued his series of awkward actions from the last game in the 19th minute. He tried to kick away the ball with both feet in the air, instead of going for the easy save with his hands. Luckily Fluminenses’ offense was so puzzled by this move that no one could turn the obvious chance into a goal.
In the 36th minute Fluminense had an even better opportunity, having already outplayed its Chilean opponent’s defense and goalkeeper. This time, though, the goal post denied mid-fielder Wellington his point.
Just as it was close to becoming a scoreless first half, Huachipato’s Braian Rodríguez received a well-timed pass in the middle of the penalty box. He brought things to 1-0 for his squad which remained the score at halftime.
In the second half, the Brazilian side increased its pressure and give itself a couple of good chances while forcing Huachipato to limit its offensive output to mostly just free kicks.
After a chest pass by Fred to Wellington in the 66th minute, Fluminense started to look still more alive. Wellington shot a volley into the left upper corner and left Veloso this time without any chance.
For a short moment it seemed Huachipato could answer right away. Federico Falcone received a long pass in the penalty box but his shot went well over the goal.
Instead, in 75th minute Fluminense changed the score to its favor. Huachipato’s defense could not clear the ball fast enough, giving Fluminense striker Wagner the chance to hit the ball directly into the right corner.
From then on, Huachipato tried to change the score. But the effort did not pay off and the Chileans could not earn a tie against Fluminense. Huachipato has dropped now to the last place in its group. Reaching the next round in the competition will be difficult for the Chilean club, if not impossible.
Huachipato will seek to redeem itself on March 6 as the team once again faces off against Fluminense in Brazil.
By Haluka Maier-Borst (mborst@santiagotimes.cl)
Copyright 2013 - The Santiago Times
Editor's note: this article has been updated.
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