The Ecuadorians responded with a stationary ball game and a header that went above the horizontal line. They also came closer with Julio’s long shot that went wide.
In this way, the first half of the final, without plays that complicated the goalkeepers Alexander Domínguez and Joao Ricardo, ended with a goalless draw.
At the start of the second half it only took three minutes for the score to be broken.
Argentinian Tomás Pochettino crossed on the right, served the ball to the center and Lucero expected his marker to take a powerful shot that left Domínguez with no choice and became Fortaleza’s first goal.
But the Brazilians’ joy did not last long as nine minutes later, Argentinian Alzugaray leveled the match with a beautiful goal from his left foot.
The number 9 had come on for the injured Renato Ibarra at the end of the first half and a few minutes on the pitch were enough for him to become one of the heroes of the day.
Fortaleza went on the attack to take the lead again and came close to that lead with a powerful shot from Yago Pikachu, to which Domínguez responded excellently.
The Brazilian team’s number 22 had several fans in the stands wearing hats and costumes of the Pokémon character and displaying banners with messages for him.
This was one of the last dangerous actions of a match in which Fortaleza handled the ball slightly more than Liga de Quito and in which both were equally heading towards the rival goal.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
