Emelec passes to second round with suspense

Emelec celebrates the second round qualifying

Emelec, one of the three representatives of Ecuador on the Copa Libertadores tournament,  classified to the second round and placed second in the 4th group with 10 points, after the goalless draw  against Argentine champion, Velez Sarsfield, in a match with a dramatic end, becoming the only national team that reaches these instance this year.

The game was not an important one, as speculated, because Velez was already classified before the beginning of the game, however, both teams went for the win and at the final moment, things began to get hard for Emelec as it was struggling with The counteroffensive plays  of the local team, in Montevideo, Peñarol ( which also struggled for a classification) won 3-0 against Deportes Iquique, but at the end, the victory was not enough (it added 9 points, thus placing itself as third ).

If Velez managed to beat Emelec even by a minimum difference, the classification would had been for Uruguayans, since they were tied in points and goals of difference, ie., the global score favored them, if that would have been the case, the Ecuadorians would be out of the tournament, but the strategy imposed by Gustavo Quinteros, Emelec strategist, paid off because his team went out for victory and defended itself.

Emelec gets his second classification to the Libertadores’ second round, in a row, something they did not get since 1994 and 1995.