Atletico Junior moved into second place in the Colombian Copa Mustang II thanks to a 4-1 win over Envigado, while Atletico Huila lost 2-1 at Once Caldas.
Carlos Bacca put Junior in the lead after 40 minutes against Envigado, but had his goal cancelled out by Dorlan Pabon two minutes later. The hosts remained focused however and second-half goals from Bacca, Giovanni Hernandez and Teofilo Gutierrez (penalty) earned the ‘Sharks’ a 4-1 victory.
Atletico Huila face the difficult task of moving on without Hernan Cordoba and Mario Beltran, who died in a car crash last week.
Huila did have a good start at Once Caldas, as Janer Guaza put the visiting side ahead after seven minutes, but John Viafara equalized 12 minutes later. The winning goal came with one minute left in regular time and was scored by Once’s Alex Sinisterra.
Santa Fe dropped to fourth place following a 3-1 defeat at Deportes Quindio. Pedro Ortega opened the score in Quindio’s favor after five minutes, and Danny Santoya doubled the advantage near the hour mark. Daniel Neculman pulled one back on 65 minutes but Carlos Rodas restored the original gap 15 minutes later.
The match between Cucuta Deportivo and Deportivo Cali ended in a goalless draw, in which both teams had a player sent off. Cucuta substitute Juan Escobar was sent for an early shower in the 65th minute, and Cali’s Daniel Briceño followed 11 minutes later.
Deportes Tolima and Boyaca Chico held each other to a 1-1 draw in the city of Ibague. Jorge Perlaza scored for the ‘Pijaos’ in the 40th minute but Winston Giron leveled for Chico in the ninth minute after the break.
The match round was marred by reports from Caldas, where fans of Independiente Medellin and Atletico Nacional clashed on the way home from their teams’ respective matches. The clash had one fatal casualty and two injured as result.
Based on the current standings, the following teams would advance to the group phase: Medellin, Junior, Huila, Pasto, Santa Fe, Nacional, Cali and Tolima.
