April 10, 2021 – 19:46
For:
El País editorial office
America has prolonged its agony, after drawing 0-0 on Saturday against Jaguares in Montería, a result that allows it to remain in the group of eight in the eighth, but will have to defeat Tolima in the last match if it wants to play the final.
Poor presentation of Juan Cruz’s team, which could not beat the Cordovan team at the Jaraguay stadium. He never did.
Poor ball delivery. This was the constant of the red team in the first 45 minutes. With a Santiago Moreno who acted as a goalkeeper, he tried to find ideal partners in Duván Vergara or Steven Lucumí, but did not find them, because when the ball reached them, the pieces died.
Only two minutes of play and Yesus Cabrera managed to score, but finished poorly on the goal and the ball was easily controlled by goalkeeper José Chunga.
Jaguares’s Wílder Guisao had an excellent opportunity after 17 minutes, shooting on a through ball down the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! Pablo Rojas header from the left side of the box is blocked by the keeper.
Two minutes later, Moreno launched an American attack and threw a ball into the net that Vergara could not fully control and, awkwardly, finished, but a defender intercepted the leg to avoid the goal.
With more willpower than the quality of the game, the “Devils” tried, but the games ended quickly due to mistakes in delivering the ball. Lucumí and Vergara, without level.
As if he didn’t need a result, coach Juan Cruz sent the same players to the field for the second half.
In the 63rd minute, the first change came, Luis Sánchez for Lucumí. And in the 70’s, Adrián Ramos came in, who reappeared after an injury, by Rafael Carrascal. A change to look for more attacks, taking risks within the brand.
What has happened so far has been the same for the first 45 minutes. A slow America, without intensity, with difficulties to go out and generate attack, its main people lost, and Jaguares trying to take advantage of the spaces left by the visitor.
Ramos’s arrival seemed to put more pressure on the scarlet team on their rival, but not necessarily more clarity and order.
A shot from Yesus in 78 forced Chunga’s stretch, which he had to send to the corner kick.
He scared the Jaguares in the 80’s with a shot from the middle of Rojas, which allowed Graterol to shine to send it to the corner kick. And in 82, the Venezuelan goalkeeper saved the red fence with a double save.
As the game started to slip away for Sánchez, the manager decided to change the tactical approach. He ran with the ball, confronted the goalkeeper, eluded him and sent the ball out only with the goal.
The red team threw a clear option to set foot in the group of qualifiers, showing a low level of most of their players on the field and taking Graterol as a savior in three scoring opportunities that the locals had.
The 0-0 draw allows America to keep the eighth place in the standings, but the last time it will play its life against Deportes Tolima at Pascual Guerrero, a place where it won only two games throughout the season. The agony is prolonged.