Junior loses again in the Libertadores and does not go to the South American

[Akrapovic]

He was defeated in Barranquilla by Melgar, 0-1, and ended his participation with only 3 points.

Junior of Barranquilla lost again in the Copa Libertadores, this time 0-1 against Melgar of Peru, and in this way he does not achieve the goal of consolation he had of qualifying for the Copa Suramericana. The area was led unopposed by Palmeiras with 15 points. San Lorenzo finished in second place with 10 and Junior sank in the last with 3.

The locals had the first clear opportunity at 5 minutes in a corner kick where Teo Gutiérrez received in the small area and sent a shot that Carlos Cáceda saved. However, the Peruvians scored in the 16th minute after midfielder Joel Sanchez got rid of two rivals in the vicinity of the area and sent a center back that came to Cuesta, who got his second goal in the continental tournament.

Junior had several scoring options through Daniel Moreno and Teo Gutiérrez but he crashed with Cáceda. The Melgar appealed to the backlash to try to hurt but only managed to be clear when Sanchez appeared, who led the attacks that contained without major difficulties the local defense.

The only clear chance for the visitors after the goal was a corner kick in which the ball was inside the area to Uruguayan midfielder Nicolás Freitas, who sent a loose finish that his compatriot Sebastian Viera saved without problems.

In the complementary stage, coach Julio Comesaña sent forward Michael Rangel to the court. The clearest opportunity for the locals came in the 55th minute, when goalkeeper Viera took a free kick that bounced on the horizontal of the opponent's goal and drowned the goal screech from the Barranquilla fans. Both teams generated several more opportunities but with the passing of the minutes the intensity of the game fell and the Colombians saw their chances of playing the Copa Sudamericana were diluted.

In the end, Junior said goodbye to the Libertadores after six days. He only won one game and one goal. The Peruvians added two victories over the Barranquilleros and a draw against San Lorenzo. The coastal team, now under the command of Julio Comesaña, has to fight for the Colombian soccer star.
0. Junior: Sebastián Viera, Marlon Piedrahita, Rafael Pérez, Willer Ditta, Gabriel Fuentes; Luis Narváez (m.65, Roger Torres), Víctor Cantillo, Sebastián Hernández; Freddy Hinestroza (m.79, James Sánchez), Teófilo Gutiérrez and Daniel Moreno (m.46, Michael Rangel). Coach: Julio Comesaña.

1. Melgar: Carlos Cáceda; Giancarlo Carmona, David Villalba, Christian Ramos, Angel Romero; Nicolás Freitas (m.79, Dahwling Leudo), Leonardo Miffin, Alexis Arias (m.90, Hideyoshi Araki), Joel Sanchez, Jhonny Vidales (m.75, Alexi Gómez), and Bernardo Cuesta. Coach: Jorge Pautasso.

Goal: 0-1, m.17: Bernardo Cuesta.

Referee: The Argentine Darío Herrera admonished Freddy Hinestroza, of the
Junior, and Alexi Gómez, from Melgar. Incidents: Match of the sixth and last day of Group F of the Copa Libertadores played at the Metropolitan Stadium Roberto Meléndez, of Barranquilla.