A spectacular strike from Matias Alustiza two minutes from full-time was worthy of the title.
Deportivo Quito obtained the Ecuadorian championship after defeating Emelec 1-0 at the Olimpico Atahualpa stadium in Quito on Friday. Their latest title triumph was the fifth in their history, after the ones they claimed in 1964, 1968, 2008 and 2009.
Having won the first leg of the final 1-0 with a goal from Fidel Martinez in Guayaquil, Deportivo Quito repeated the feat at home with a strike from Matias Alustiza two minutes from full-time for a comfortable 2-0 aggregate victory over the two legs.
Backed by the majority of the 35,000 fans in the stadium, Deportivo Quito dominated their opponents for great part of the match, but especially after Eduardo Morante was sent off in the 53rd minute for a second bookable offense.
They created several opportunities to break the deadlock, however, were continually kept out by Emelec goalkeeper Wilmer Zumba. Emelec knew that they had to score a goal at all costs to stay alive, and they had the perfect opportunity to do exactly this in the 76th minute, but substitute Walter Iza failed to beat Quito goalkeeper Marcelo Elizaga when he had the goal at his mercy.
The missed opportunity would come back to haunt them, as in the 88th minute Alustiza fired a right-footed thunderbolt into the back of the net from outside of the area to give Deportivo Quito the three points, and essentially the title.
With the title, Deportivo Quito will participate in Group 7 of the Copa Libertadores, along with Velez Sarsfield, Defensor Sporting and Chivas de Guadalajara. Emelec will compete in Group 2, alongside Lanus and two yet to be identified sides.
Meanwhile, Ecuador's final Copa Libertadores berth will be decided on Monday, with the decisive playoff between Liga de Quito and El Nacional. El Nacional won the first leg of the playoff 2-1.
Having won the first leg of the final 1-0 with a goal from Fidel Martinez in Guayaquil, Deportivo Quito repeated the feat at home with a strike from Matias Alustiza two minutes from full-time for a comfortable 2-0 aggregate victory over the two legs.
Backed by the majority of the 35,000 fans in the stadium, Deportivo Quito dominated their opponents for great part of the match, but especially after Eduardo Morante was sent off in the 53rd minute for a second bookable offense.
They created several opportunities to break the deadlock, however, were continually kept out by Emelec goalkeeper Wilmer Zumba. Emelec knew that they had to score a goal at all costs to stay alive, and they had the perfect opportunity to do exactly this in the 76th minute, but substitute Walter Iza failed to beat Quito goalkeeper Marcelo Elizaga when he had the goal at his mercy.
The missed opportunity would come back to haunt them, as in the 88th minute Alustiza fired a right-footed thunderbolt into the back of the net from outside of the area to give Deportivo Quito the three points, and essentially the title.
With the title, Deportivo Quito will participate in Group 7 of the Copa Libertadores, along with Velez Sarsfield, Defensor Sporting and Chivas de Guadalajara. Emelec will compete in Group 2, alongside Lanus and two yet to be identified sides.
Meanwhile, Ecuador's final Copa Libertadores berth will be decided on Monday, with the decisive playoff between Liga de Quito and El Nacional. El Nacional won the first leg of the playoff 2-1.
