We knew it was going to be complicated, but not as complicated as it was. O’Higgins, this Sunday, narrowly beat Lautaro de Buin 0-1 and remains in the race in the 2024 Chile Cup.
In the first half of this match, emotions were scarce. The state of the playing field, regular downwards, complicated the actions of the Rancagüinos too much.
What’s more, with only a couple of mid-range shots, from Calderón and Buonanotte, Capo showed something to move goalkeeper André Jerez.
On the other side, the local team had a couple of opportunities, especially through stopped balls. The center backs, Sotomayor and Rodríguez, almost always beat the Rancagüino defenders.
This is how the first half developed, so Víctor Fuentes was forced to move the bench for the second period, with the entry of Martín Maturana for Felipe Ogaz as his first decision.
RELIEF IN THE EPILOGUE
Once the actions had restarted, O’Higgins had an opportunity to open the account. Diego Buonanotte, who took a shot from outside the area and goalkeeper Jerez was remarkable to avoid the goal shout.
But, on the next play, Maturana was injured – a tear – and had to leave. Bryan Rabello came in to replace him to set up the football from midfield and the former Sevilla player was key to the definition of the match.
Then, in the 65th minute, the “10” created space to shoot from mid-range, and Jerez once again appeared to drown out the goal cry.
Towards the end, in the midst of the disorder, Fredes crashed a ball into the horizontal, which would have meant early elimination and victory for the local team.
But the relief came during the addition time. In the 90’+4′, Joaquín Tapia took a dragged cross and Rabello appeared in the center to connect and make it 0-1.
It was somewhat well celebrated, and it was not, because it meant qualifying and passing the round. Now, on Thursday, it will be decided who will be the next rival, since Deportes Quillón and Colo-Colo will play in Collao. Whoever advances will play against the light blue.
REACTIONS
After the match, coach Víctor Fuentes indicated a match like this “we expected it. I told them, Lautaro is an intense team, a fighter, that does not give up any ball for lost and on the field, which was not in good condition.”
Likewise, the coach valued the classification, pointing out that “we searched until the last, we changed the game system, and in the end we were calm because we passed a difficult rival.”
In passing, Fuentes stressed that “the rival defended well,” which undoubtedly complicated the celestial actions.
For their part, in the squad, they commented that they faced a tough rival. The figure of the party, Bryan Rabello, maintained that “they planned the game quite well, it was difficult for us to enter the field of play and we achieved what we had.”
Along with this, he assured that the objective is to “fight as high as possible.”
Lautaro de Buin (0): André Jerez, Ignacio Novoa, Carlos Rodríguez, Joshua Sotomayor, Benjamín Gómez (75′, Mauricio Flores), Kevin Fernández, Eduardo Vidal (75′, Matías Fredes), Gonzalo Mendiburo (87′, Simón Arias), Giovanni Bustos, Bernardo Mendoza (68′, Nicolás Gutiérrez), José Luis Silva (68′, Francisco Lara). DT: Carlos Encinas.
O’Higgins (1): Diego Carreño, Brian Torrealba, Leonel Mosevich, Juan Díaz, Antonio Díaz, Camilo Moya, Felipe Ogaz (46′, Martín Maturana) (51′, Bryan Rabello), Martín Sarrafiore, Diego Buonanotte (62′, Joaquín Tapia), Esteban Calderón (90’+4′, Cristóbal Castillo), Octavio Bianchi (62′, Arnaldo Castillo). DT: Victor Fuentes.
Referees: Esteban Molina, Manuel Marín, Jean Araya, Francisco Moyano.
Cautioned: Mendoza, Sotomayor, Fernández, Encinas DT (LAU); Mosevich, A. Díaz, A. Castillo, Maturana (OHI).
Goals: 0-1, 90’+4′, Rabello.
Stadium: Municipal, La Pintana.
Public: 677 spectators.
