Junior from Barranquilla qualified for the final home runs of the BetPlay League 2024-l. In an intense match, with an agonizing ending, the team led by Arturo Reyes tied 0-0 on their visit to Deportivo Cali and finished the round-robin phase in seventh position with 29 points. Santiago Mele, with two key saves, was the great figure at the Palmaseca stadium.
Deportivo Cali handled the ball at the beginning. Alexander Mejía, who is the axis in half of the Valle del Cauca team, encouraged his teammates to play on the Junior field. The left wing, with Andrey Estupiñán and Yulian Mejía, was chosen by those led by Hernando ‘Cocho’ Patiño to create danger for their rival in the first minutes.
Junior, for his part, tried to create play with Luis ‘Cariaco’ González and Yimmi Chará. In fact, the Venezuelan had the first approach to the 4th minute with a powerful shot on the edge of the area, which ended up hitting an opponent. Just 2 minutes later, Junior’s #8 attempted an individual play that was cleared by the Valle del Cauca defense.
Santiago Mele, the hero of the classification
Santiago Mele’s first appearance was at 17′. Center from the right that the Uruguayan goalkeeper, demonstrating his confidence, cleared. Minutes later, the clearest option of the first half arrived: Kelvin Osorio received the shot alone in the area and crossed the goal, but, just enough, the goalkeeper deflected the shot away from him. Although Deportivo Cali finished the first half better, the score was tied 0-0 at halftime.
With Medellín’s victory against Envigado, Junior’s nervousness began to grow. At minute 50, Deportivo Cali once again missed another clear opportunity. Filtered pass from Jarlan Barrera to Fredy Montero, who scored the ball to Santiago Mele and Jermein Peña, with a great effort, saved the ball on the line.
Junior tried to respond with Yimmi Chará and Carlos Bacca, but Alejandro Rodríguez was attentive to the visitors’ approaches. With this result, the Barranquilla club finished the round-robin phase in seventh position with 29 points and a goal difference of +3. Deportivo Cali, for its part, ranked 15th with 21 units.
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Changes
Edwin Herrera (40′, Walmer Pacheco), Vladimir Hernandez (45′, Johan Bocanegra), Fabian Castillo (57′, Juan Córdoba), Homer Martinez (63′, Luis González), Gian Cabezas (70′, Alexander Mejía), Javier Reina (71′, Jarlan Barrera), Andres Andrade (83′, Jonathan Marulanda), Marco Perez (83′, Carlos Bacca)
Cards
Referee: Wilmar Alexander Roldán Pérez
VAR Referee: María Victoria Daza Ortiz, José Alexander Ortiz Novoa
Victor Cantillo (24′, Yellow), Come on Chara (24′, Yellow), Jermein Pena (34′, Yellow)