Independiente del Valle took a goalless draw on Sunday from their visit to Macará in the penultimate round of the second stage in the Ecuadorian soccer championship. This result sent the Ambateños to fifth place in the accumulated standings.
That means the Celestes are out of the access zone to the preliminary phase of the next Copa Libertadores and would have a spot for the following Copa Sudamericana.
Los del Valle are third in the accumulated standings with 68 points, one more than Barcelona (+22), who defeated the relegated Fuerza Amarilla 2-0 on Sunday; while Macará is fifth with 67 (+9).
Macará's top scorer, Argentine Juan Manuel Tévez, was cautioned and accumulated his fifth yellow card, so he will be absent on the last matchday when the Celestes visit the Toreros.
Match development
Once again, Macará players missed clear scoring opportunities. Perhaps the most obvious one was Carlos Feraud's at twelve minutes when he won a ball against the poor positioning of rival defender Juan Segovia, but when facing goalkeeper Adrián Bone, his shot did no harm.
Although at 38 minutes, Independiente del Valle also had the chance to take the lead through Maximiliano Barreiro, but his shot was covered by goalkeeper Carlos Espinoza.
In the 41st minute, a dubious play occurred as Carlos Estacio was tackled by Segovia inside the small box, but referee Omar Ponce considered that there was no foul, despite the protest from Macará's players and fans.
In the second half, Independiente went out to maintain the tie but didn't want to risk anything. That allowed Macará to dominate but without the required strength and precision to score.
At 51 minutes, Tévez had the opportunity to score, but his shot went wide; while at 85, Galo Corozo, facing the goal alone, didn't hit the ball well, missing another chance for the Ambateño victory.
At the end of the match, Macará players left with their heads down because they know that the possibility of reaching the Copa Libertadores for the first time has become complicated, although they already have a spot secured for the Sudamericana.
LINE-UPS
Macará: Juan Espinosa; Galo Corozo, Óscar Ayala, Moisés Corozo, Armando Gómez; José Cazares, Carlos Feraud, Jean Estacio (Carlos Ayoví Corozo, 58m; Héctor Penayo, 88m), Diego Benítez; Ronald Champang and Juan Tévez. Coach: Boris Fiallos (interim).
Independiente del Valle: Adrián Bone; Christian Núñez, Luis Fernando León, Juan Segovia, Bryan Rivera; Efrén Mera, Mario Rizotto, Dixon Arroyo, Billy Arce (Washington Corozo, 69m); Felipe Mejía (Jhegson Méndez, 87) and Maximiliano Barreiro (Michael Estrada, 81m). Coach: Alexis Mendoza.
Referee: Omar Ponce. Cautioned: Gómez (21m), Cazares (65m), Tévez (73m); Rizotto (45m); Mera (67m) and Arroyo (78m).
Time: 13:00 local time.
Stadium: Bellavista, Ambato
Broadcast: Directv, CNT and TVCable.
*Collaboration from Wilson Pinto, correspondent in Ambato (D)