Liga of Quito began their road to the Copa title on the right foot.
The fans didn’t even get to settle into their seats when Joffre Guerron centered the ball to Claudio Bieler who struck first time and defeated Fluminenses keeper. It was only minute 2 and it was a sign of things to come.
Fluminense was not going to go down without a fight! Flu came back with a beautiful free kick by Argentine Dario Conca. It was only 11 minutes of play and we had a hell of a game.
Liga began to dominate the game when at minute 28 Guerron struck from the left side after the ball had bounced around in the area. 2-1 for Liga. A few minutes later Luis Bolaños centers the ball and defender Jairo Campos manages to flick it over the keeper to make it 3-1 at minute 33. Captain Patricio Urrutia made it 4-1 as the first half expired giving Liga a lead no one had expected.
The second half was a different story as Fluminense came out in search of goals. No doubt coach Renato had a word with his players during the break. At minute 52 Thiago Neves received a center from the right and nodded the ball past keeper Cevallos to bring the score to 4-2. Fluminense dominated most of the second half but was unable to score. As the game ended it seemed Liga’s players just wanted the game to be over.
Liga now takes a 2 goal advantage to Brazil. Fluminense will need to defeat Liga by 3 goals or score 2 to tie it and go to penalties. My hopes is that the Cinderella story for Liga will end on a high note. I predict Fluminense will win game 2 by 1-0 giving Liga and Ecuador their first continental title in history. But, Fluminense will play in the legendary Maracana in-front of 100,000 screaming fans, anything can happen. We’ll have to wait until next Wednesday July 2 to find out.