defense and justice defeated this Wednesday through 2-1 To Botafogo A Nicolás Fernández brace secured a place in the semi-finals of the Copa Sudamericana, upending a series that had ended in a first-leg draw in Brazil. Nicolás “Uvita” Fernández was the big protagonist of the evening for Halcón, who became the only Argentine team in this phase of the Copa Sudamericana after Estudiantes de La Plata were eliminated by Brazil’s Corinthians on Tuesday.
Julio Vaccari’s team took the lead from the start of the game and won their first win after just 15 minutes with a double defensive error from the away game, which Gastón Togni capitalized on with a perfect cross to score Gastón Togni’s goal “Uvita” Fernández. The defense then metered their efforts but maintained their attacking stance against a rival who had bet too heavily on Spaniard Diego Costa’s chances on goal, who had an option in the 32nd minute but his shot went wide.
When everything indicated that home advantage would go into the break, Lucas Fernandes fired a free-kick in the third minute of extra time that hit the post and then rebounded Enrique Bologna to seal the tie in both the score and the series.
In the second half, the defense again looked for the advantage on the scoreboard, with Santiago Solari at the heart of the attack and David Barbona as the perfect partner. In the 72nd minute, Alexis Soto crossed and headed in again, leveling the scores Nicholas Fernández to hit Roberto Fernández’s door again.
With a great crowd presence, the defense withstood the onslaught of the Rio side in the last few minutes in search of a draw, which however never materialized and sealed the passage of defense and justice to the semifinals. The Argentinian rivals will be the winners of the Liga de Quito-São Paulo series that this Thursday will conclude a series that began last week with a 2-1 victory for the Ecuadorian side at Morumbí Stadium.
The Falcon’s dream is to repeat a title they already won in 2020 at the hands of Hernán Crespo, when they retained the trophy after beating their compatriot Lanús 3-0 in a final at the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium in the city of Cordova defeated.
