Velez Sarsfield and Universitario de Deportes move closer towards the semi-finals.
Velez Sarsfield of Argentina picked up a valuable 1-1 draw against Independiente Santa Fe in Bogota on Wednesday, a result that puts them in a good position looking ahead to the return leg of the quarter-final which will be staged in Buenos Aires. The fact that Velez scored an away goal means that the Colombians must find the back of the net at least once in Argentina, in order to stand any chance of progressing.
Meanwhile, Universitario de Deportes of Peru also took a giant leap towards the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday after defeating Vasco da Gama of Brazil 2-0 in Lima. Universitario played outstanding soccer throughout the match and could have even won the match by a greater difference.
On Thursday, the remaining two quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana will be played, with Arsenal de Sarandi of Argentina taking on Universidad de Chile and Liga de Quito of Colombia up against Libertad of Paraguay. Both matches are expected to be very exciting, due to the attacking style of the four teams.
Velez Sarsfield took an important step towards the semi-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after picking up a 1-1 draw against Independiente Santa Fe at the Campin de Bogota stadium on Tuesday.
Velez, the current Argentine champions, knew that they'd be in for a complicated battle, however, they started the stronger of the two sides, and almost went ahead within the first five minutes, through a Emiliano Papa header that didn't miss by far.
Despite the fact that Velez were playing the better soccer, it was the Colombians that went ahead, when in the 24th minute what seemed to be a weak free-kick from Gerardo Bedoya deflected off the Velez wall and eluded a stranded Marcelo Barovero in goal.
In the second period, Velez went in search of the equaliser and looked very dangerous each time they moved forward to the attack. The Colombians lacked personality in their game and it seemed that at any moment Velez would draw level.
Finally, in the 76th minute Velez's much-deserved goal arrived, when David Ramirez beat Santa Fe goalkeeper Camilo Vargas with a well-placed shot.
To make matters worse for the Colombians, in the 84th minute Bedoya was dismissed for a second bookable offense. Bedoya, one of Santa Fe's most influential players, will miss the return leg of the tie at the Jose Amalfitani stadium of Liniers.
Towards the end of the match Velez continued to press as they went looking for the winner, which could have arrived if it hadn't been for the efforts of the solid Santa Fe defense.
Universitario de Deportes of Peru defeated Vasco da Gama of Brazil 2-0 in a highly-intense Copa Sudamericana quarter-final, played in front of over 30,000 fans at the Estadio Nacional in Lima on Wednesday.
It was an electric match as both teams played swift attacking soccer immediately from the kick-off. Both teams had several opportunities to score in the early moments of the match, with the deadlock being finally broken in the 36th minute, when Universitario striker Raul Ruidiaz fired home a penalty kick.
Moments later Universitario came close to adding their second, when a Edison Flores shot was cleared off the line by Vasco defender Fagner. The Brazilians were finding it extremely difficult to deal with the pace of the Universitario attack.
At the beginning of the second period, Vasco went in search of an equaliser, and came close to achieving this when a Bernardo free-kick hit the crossbar. Vasco, who are currently joint-leaders of the Brazilian championship along with Corinthians, threatened the Peruvians each time they mounted an attack.
It seemed that at any moment the much-improved Brazilians would draw level, however, in the 58th minute Johan Fano raced onto a precise through ball from Rainer Torres and beat Vasco goalkeeper Fernando with a clever finish to seal Universitario a 2-0 victory.
The quarter-final tie will be decided next Wednesday, when the teams meet again at the Sao Januairo stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Meanwhile, Universitario de Deportes of Peru also took a giant leap towards the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday after defeating Vasco da Gama of Brazil 2-0 in Lima. Universitario played outstanding soccer throughout the match and could have even won the match by a greater difference.
On Thursday, the remaining two quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana will be played, with Arsenal de Sarandi of Argentina taking on Universidad de Chile and Liga de Quito of Colombia up against Libertad of Paraguay. Both matches are expected to be very exciting, due to the attacking style of the four teams.
Velez Sarsfield took an important step towards the semi-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after picking up a 1-1 draw against Independiente Santa Fe at the Campin de Bogota stadium on Tuesday.
Velez, the current Argentine champions, knew that they'd be in for a complicated battle, however, they started the stronger of the two sides, and almost went ahead within the first five minutes, through a Emiliano Papa header that didn't miss by far.
Despite the fact that Velez were playing the better soccer, it was the Colombians that went ahead, when in the 24th minute what seemed to be a weak free-kick from Gerardo Bedoya deflected off the Velez wall and eluded a stranded Marcelo Barovero in goal.
In the second period, Velez went in search of the equaliser and looked very dangerous each time they moved forward to the attack. The Colombians lacked personality in their game and it seemed that at any moment Velez would draw level.
Finally, in the 76th minute Velez's much-deserved goal arrived, when David Ramirez beat Santa Fe goalkeeper Camilo Vargas with a well-placed shot.
To make matters worse for the Colombians, in the 84th minute Bedoya was dismissed for a second bookable offense. Bedoya, one of Santa Fe's most influential players, will miss the return leg of the tie at the Jose Amalfitani stadium of Liniers.
Towards the end of the match Velez continued to press as they went looking for the winner, which could have arrived if it hadn't been for the efforts of the solid Santa Fe defense.
Universitario de Deportes of Peru defeated Vasco da Gama of Brazil 2-0 in a highly-intense Copa Sudamericana quarter-final, played in front of over 30,000 fans at the Estadio Nacional in Lima on Wednesday.
It was an electric match as both teams played swift attacking soccer immediately from the kick-off. Both teams had several opportunities to score in the early moments of the match, with the deadlock being finally broken in the 36th minute, when Universitario striker Raul Ruidiaz fired home a penalty kick.
Moments later Universitario came close to adding their second, when a Edison Flores shot was cleared off the line by Vasco defender Fagner. The Brazilians were finding it extremely difficult to deal with the pace of the Universitario attack.
At the beginning of the second period, Vasco went in search of an equaliser, and came close to achieving this when a Bernardo free-kick hit the crossbar. Vasco, who are currently joint-leaders of the Brazilian championship along with Corinthians, threatened the Peruvians each time they mounted an attack.
It seemed that at any moment the much-improved Brazilians would draw level, however, in the 58th minute Johan Fano raced onto a precise through ball from Rainer Torres and beat Vasco goalkeeper Fernando with a clever finish to seal Universitario a 2-0 victory.
The quarter-final tie will be decided next Wednesday, when the teams meet again at the Sao Januairo stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
