Venezuelan Zamora Advances in Copa Sudamericana 2016
Venezuelan Zamora advanced to the second phase of the Copa Sudamericana 2016 on Thursday by defeating Ecuadorian *Barcelona in a penalty shootout, after a double tie 1-1 in the first round of the subregional tournament.
Goalkeeper Carlos Salazar was the hero for the Venezuelan champion, at the Agustín Tovar stadium in Barinas, saving shots from Matías Oyola and Pedro Velasco in the penalty shootout, while Ely Esterilla missed his shot. Richard Blanco, Luis Vargas, and Yeferson Soteldo converted for the winners.
Assisted by Pedro Ramírez, Blanco tied the match in the 87th minute of a game played under heavy rain and dominated until then by Barcelona, who took the lead with a free kick from Marcos Caicedo in the 19th minute.
Zamora will face Montevideo Wanderers from Uruguay in the second phase.
| Zamora FC 0-1 Barcelona SC: penalties | ||||||
| Zamora FC | X | X | X | 3 | ||
| Barcelona SC | - | - | - | 0 |
Zamora FC 0-1 Barcelona SC: Goal by Marcos Caicedo
What a goal by Marcos Caicedo to put Barcelona in the lead and secure their qualification.pic.twitter.com/aozkP77VMZ
- JoseFreireGuti (@JoseFreireGuti) August 18, 2016
Zamora FC vs. Barcelona SC: Lineups
Zamora FC: Salazar; Faría, Peraza, Osorio, Ovalle; Hernández, Vargas; Soteldo, Ramirez, Clarke; Blanco.
Barcelona SC: Banguera; Velasco, Aimar, Ordoñez, Pineida; Esterilla, Marquez, Oyola, Vera; Diaz; Caicedo.
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Boosted by the 1-1 draw achieved in Guayaquil last Wednesday in the first leg of the tie, the white and black team aims to show solidity as the home team at the La Carolina stadium in Barinas (west), in order to "make an impact at the international level," said their coach, Francesco Stifano.
Barcelona SC vs. Zamora FC: Match Schedule
| Country | Time |
| Peru | 5:30 pm |
| Venezuela | 6:30 pm |
| Ecuador | 5:30 pm |
| Colombia | 5:30 pm |
| Argentina | 7:30 pm |
| Chile | 6:30 pm |
| Mexico | 5:30 pm |
"We are risking everything for the Copa Sudamericana," said Stifano to the press over the weekend. A penalty goal by Yeferson Soteldo, eight minutes from the end, allowed Zamora to leave the Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo with strengthened confidence for the second leg. Washington Vera had put the Ecuadorian team ahead at the 54th minute.
"It will be vital to know how to manage this result because Barcelona is a very intense team and we must take care of all the details, although they will not have an easy time in Barinas either because we are strong at home," said Soteldo.
The author of the penalty goal that leveled the match in Guayaquil is, along with Pedro Ramírez and Panamanian Ricardo Clarke, a reference in the Zamora offensive. This trio is in charge of providing the team's center forward, Richard Blanco, with balls.
In search of the qualification, Zamora needs to recover the solidity that it usually shows in its stadium, where it had a streak of 37 consecutive unbeaten games in the Venezuelan championship. They did not do so well in their last two home matches in the 2016 Clausura Tournament, losing to Zulia (1-2) and drawing with Portuguesa (0-0), being displaced from the top spot by Carabobo.
On the other hand, Barcelona arrives in Venezuela in first place in the Ecuadorian league, experiencing "a good moment individually and collectively," according to midfielder Matías Oyola. However, the goal conceded at home makes the visit to Zamora dangerous for the team led by Uruguayan coach Jorge Almada. "We have no margin for error," said Oyola on Monday at a press conference, acknowledging that "Zamora left a bigger impression on us than we had of them."
Barcelona SC vs. Zamora FC: Possible Lineups
Barcelona SC: Máximo Banguera; Pedro Velasco, Darío Aimar, Anderson Ordóñez, Roosevelt Oyola; Gabriel Marques, Matía Oyola, Ely Esterilla, Damián Díaz; Washington Vera and Jonathan Álvez.
Zamora FC: Carlos Salazar; Ángel Faría, Edwin Peraza, Yordan Osorio, Luis Ovalle; Óscar Hernández, Luis Vargas, Yeferson Soteldo, Pedro Ramírez; Ricardo Clarke and Richard Blanco.
Source: AFP
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