Millionaires and Deportivo Pereira, the last two champions of the Colombian Professional Football League, drew 0-0 at El Campin for the second matchday of Liga BetPlay II-2023. Goalkeepers Alvaro Montero and Aldair Quintana were key players in an entertaining match that promised goals but fell short.
The first approximation of Pereira came at the 13th minute through Angelo Rodriguez. The forward appeared on the right side and, after getting rid of the marking of Juan Pablo Vargas, shot at "point-blank" at Alvaro Montero, who resolved the situation well to avoid a surprise.
Millionaires started to get closer to Pereira's territory with balls from the left side. At minute 25, Jorge Arias tried to complicate the opponent's defense by playing a ball for David Macalister Silva, who appeared inside the penalty area and took a shot that demanded Aldair Quintana's intervention.
Pereira's response came two minutes later. Larry Angulo tried from outside the box, making Montero shine in a difficult ball that bounced in the area. At the 29th minute, Quintana responded by preventing Leonardo Castro's goal after a long ball from Jorge Arias that ended up rebounding to the goalscorer's feet.
Millionaires had the clearest goalscoring opportunity at the 31st minute. A corner kick taken by Daniel Cataño and headed by Jorge Arias. The visiting goalkeeper reacted with feline reflexes and cleared the danger as best as he could. The first half ended 0-0.
The situation did not change in the second half. In the 54th minute, Carlos Ramirez headed a corner kick from Jeison Suarez and demanded a save from Montero. Three minutes later, Pereira recovered a ball with Emiro Garces after a short pass by the goalkeeper. Larry took a shot that ended up in Montero's hands.
In the 73rd minute, Pereira tried again. It all happened after a long ball from Arley Rodriguez on the right side, which was saved masterfully by the blue-and-white goalkeeper. Montero did not take for granted that the ball was going out and stretched to clear it from the entire angle.
The concern for Alberto Gamero came at the 78th minute with the injury of Juan Pablo Vargas. The center-back exerted himself in a counterattack by Angelo Rodriguez and ended up with muscular problems. He left the field limping and holding his left adductor.
Millonarios could have scored a great goal through Fernando Uribe, who came on in the final minutes. In injury time, the forward pulled off a maneuver with great technical skill, which surprisingly went wide over the crossbar. Uribe's overhead kick, which caused the crowd to react with "Uhhh!", was the last action of the match.