Junior won its tenth Colombian league title on Wednesday with a 3-5 penalty shootout victory over Deportivo Independiente Medellín (DIM), which won the second leg of the Colombian league final 2-1.
The Barranquilleros, coached by Arturo Reyes, drew level the series with a goal in the 89th minute by Vladimir Hernández that sealed the final 2-1 against an opponent that had taken the lead with goals by Uruguayan center back Joaquín Varela and winger Edwuin Cetré.
Also key to the visitors’ title was Uruguayan goalkeeper Santiago Mele, who saved a penalty in the shootout to help his team win the Colombian league.
In the penalty shootout, Carlos Bacca, Edwin Herrera, Steven Rodríguez, Gabriel Fuentes and Léider Berrío scored for El Tiburón.
While for DIM, Andrés Ricaurte, Luciano Pons and Leyser Chaverra scored goals, and captain Daniel Torres missed.
El Poderoso came out to crush its rival, but the first opportunity was for the team from Barranquilla in a play in which Luis ‘Cariaco’ González shot from the edge of the area that demanded the goalkeeper Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo.
However, the locals scored with their first shot from a corner kick taken by Cetré that, diving from behind, was headed by Uruguayan Varela to celebrate wildly with the crowd that filled the stands of the Atanasio Girardot.
Junior reacted quickly and had a string of chances to equalize.
The first was a cross from ‘Cariaco’ and a header from midfielder Didier Moreno that went close. Then it was a right-footed shot by striker Carlos Bacca, with little space, that crashed against the post and the rebound was grabbed by José Enamorado, who took a right-footed shot that Mosquera Marmolejo saved.
Then, in a lethal counterattack, the winger Déiber Caicedo sent a cross that Enamorado finished off in extremis and the local goalkeeper saved again, to the euphoria of the public.
For the second half, DIM came out looking for the second goal driven by the all-rounder Daniel Torres, who today proved to be the ideal partner for all his teammates in all areas of the field.
He was precisely the post with which Cetré made a wall to get a low shot from half distance that deflected off center back Jermein Peña in the 55th minute and slipped into the goal of Uruguayan Santiago Mele for the 2-0.
Junior was petrified by the goal and even El Poderoso came close to increasing the lead in the 63rd minute when the referee disallowed a goal by midfielder Yairo Moreno for offside.
To try to equalize the series, coach Arturo Reyes sent to the field the experienced Hernández and midfielder Léider Berrío, who had some skirmishes but failed to give clarity to the team.
Everything seemed to be defined until the 89th minute when Caicedo sent in a cross that Hernández volleyed into the back of the net to silence the crowd at the Atanasio Girardot.
In the penalty shootout, Junior scored all its penalty kicks and thus won its tenth title and a place in the 2024 Copa Libertadores.
– Technical details:
2. DIM: Andrés Mosquera; Luis Orejuela (69th minute, Leyser Chaverra), José Ortiz, Joaquín Varela, Daniel Londoño; Daniel Torres, Jaime Alvarado (81st minute, Andrés Ricaurte), Edwin Cetré (60th minute, Anderson Plata), Yairo Moreno; Brayan León (81st minute, Luciano Pons) and Diego Moreno (81st minute, Jhon Palacios).
Coach: Alfredo Arias.
Junior: Santiago Mele; Walmer Pacheco (86th minute, Edwin Herrera), Jermein Peña, Emmanuel Olivera (46th minute, Brayan Ceballos), Gabriel Fuentes; Didier Moreno (74th minute, Steven Rodríguez), Hómer Martínez, Luis ‘Cariaco’ González (62nd minute, Léider Berrío); José Enamorado (62nd minute, Vladimir Hernández), Déiber Caicedo and Carlos Bacca.
Coach: Arturo Reyes.
Goals: 1-0, minute 13: Joaquín Varela. 2-0, 55th minute: Edwin Cetré. 2-1, 89th minute: Vladimir Hernández.
Referee: Nicolás Gallo. Warned coach Alfredo Arias and DIM assistant coach Francisco Nájera, as well as players Jaime Alvarado, Didier Moreno, Walmer Pacheco, Diego Moreno and Leyser Chaverra.
Incidents: Second leg of the Colombian Clausura Tournament played at the Atanasio Girardot stadium in Medellín.