Draws see Velez Sarsfield and Universitario de Deportes reach the quarter-finals.
Two more Copa Sudamericana quarter-finalists were decided on Thursday, with Velez Sarsfield and Universitario de Deportes advancing after dramatic clashes with Universidad Catolica and Godoy Cruz, respectively. Both victors came into the return legs with advantages, making the most of them in-front of their own fans. Velez and Universitario join Liga de Quito and Arsenal de Sarandi in the following phase of the competition.
While Velez will be hoping to become the fifth Argentine club to have won the competition, after San Lorenzo (2002), Boca Juniors (2004 & 2005), Arsenal de Sarandi (2007) and Independiente (2010), Universitario will hope to follow in the footsteps of Cienciano, who since their triumph in 2003 have been the only Peruvian side to have won the tournament.
Velez Sarsfield progressed to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after fighting out a 1-1 draw with Universidad Catolica in Buenos Aires on Thursday. The Argentines went through after having beaten Catolica 2-0 in Santiago last week.
Catolica needed a miracle to advance, and the Chileans started brightly, with Gonzalo Sepulveda giving them a surprise lead in the 29th minute when he fired a long-range missile past Velez goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero.
In the second half Catolica pushed forward in an attempt to force an equaliser, but although they controlled the flow of the match, they failed to create any decent goal-scoring opportunities.
Velez, the Argentine Clausura champions, grew as the half went on and this had much to do with the desperation of the visitors, who couldn't break through the rock-solid Velez defense no matter how hard they tried.
Ivan Bella had a good opportunity to draw Velez level in the 58th minute, but the midfielder finished weakly. Minutes later a powerful 30-metre drive from Catolica attacker Sepulveda flew inches over the crossbar, to the relief of the stunned Argentines.
Fernando Ortiz found Velez's equaliser in the 76th minute when he headed home a Hector Canteros delivery. The goal sealed the tie in favour of the Buenos Aires outfit, who still had time to hit the bar late on.
After being deadlocked at 1-1 over 180 minutes, a penalty shootout victory sent Universitario de Deportes of Peru into the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana at the expense of Argentine club Godoy Cruz. The match itself ended in a 1-1 draw, the same result as that of the first leg, which was played in Mendoza last month.
Godoy Cruz arrived in Peru very motivated, and they started well during a very entertaining clash. The Argentines created several clear goal-scoring opportunities during the match, and after much pressure they finally went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Israel Damonte headed home a corner-kick.
Their advantage allowed them to play their game for almost the duration of the second half, but although they looked much stronger than the Peruvians in all aspects of their game, they failed to turn their chances into goals.
This came back to haunt them, as six minutes from full-time Andrade nodded home a precise Edison Flores cross to send the match into a penalty shootout. Universitario went on to win the shootout 3-2, with Raul Ruidiaz scoring the all important winner.
While Velez will be hoping to become the fifth Argentine club to have won the competition, after San Lorenzo (2002), Boca Juniors (2004 & 2005), Arsenal de Sarandi (2007) and Independiente (2010), Universitario will hope to follow in the footsteps of Cienciano, who since their triumph in 2003 have been the only Peruvian side to have won the tournament.
Velez Sarsfield progressed to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after fighting out a 1-1 draw with Universidad Catolica in Buenos Aires on Thursday. The Argentines went through after having beaten Catolica 2-0 in Santiago last week.
Catolica needed a miracle to advance, and the Chileans started brightly, with Gonzalo Sepulveda giving them a surprise lead in the 29th minute when he fired a long-range missile past Velez goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero.
In the second half Catolica pushed forward in an attempt to force an equaliser, but although they controlled the flow of the match, they failed to create any decent goal-scoring opportunities.
Velez, the Argentine Clausura champions, grew as the half went on and this had much to do with the desperation of the visitors, who couldn't break through the rock-solid Velez defense no matter how hard they tried.
Ivan Bella had a good opportunity to draw Velez level in the 58th minute, but the midfielder finished weakly. Minutes later a powerful 30-metre drive from Catolica attacker Sepulveda flew inches over the crossbar, to the relief of the stunned Argentines.
Fernando Ortiz found Velez's equaliser in the 76th minute when he headed home a Hector Canteros delivery. The goal sealed the tie in favour of the Buenos Aires outfit, who still had time to hit the bar late on.
After being deadlocked at 1-1 over 180 minutes, a penalty shootout victory sent Universitario de Deportes of Peru into the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana at the expense of Argentine club Godoy Cruz. The match itself ended in a 1-1 draw, the same result as that of the first leg, which was played in Mendoza last month.
Godoy Cruz arrived in Peru very motivated, and they started well during a very entertaining clash. The Argentines created several clear goal-scoring opportunities during the match, and after much pressure they finally went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Israel Damonte headed home a corner-kick.
Their advantage allowed them to play their game for almost the duration of the second half, but although they looked much stronger than the Peruvians in all aspects of their game, they failed to turn their chances into goals.
This came back to haunt them, as six minutes from full-time Andrade nodded home a precise Edison Flores cross to send the match into a penalty shootout. Universitario went on to win the shootout 3-2, with Raul Ruidiaz scoring the all important winner.
