Fluminense 0, Unión de Santa Fe 0: a draw for Junior

Argentina’s Unión de Santa Fe scored a valuable goalless draw on Tuesday with a disallowed goal and a saved penalty in their visit to Brazil’s Fluminense at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracaná Stadium, leaving them in first place in the group for now. H of the South American Cup.

The Argentine team managed to overcome the pressure in the stadium of Rio de Janeiro and had the Uruguayan goalkeeper Santiago Mele as a hero, who saved a penalty from Fluminense in the last minute of the game.

Flying Mel! the archer of @clubunion saved a penalty from Fred in the last of the game and avoided @FluminenseFC keep the three points.#TheGreatConquest pic.twitter.com/1qP1d0VC7J

— South American CONMEBOL (@Sudamericana) April 27, 2022

Unbeaten with one win and two draws, the Union leads the group by 5 points pending the outcome of Thursday’s match between Bolivian Oriente Petrolero and Junior for the third day.

The home draw, on the other hand, parked Fluminense in third place in the group, with 4 points, the same as Junior, and only ahead of Oriente Petrolero, bottom player still without points.

The lead in the South American and the equalizer in the Maracana, historic for the “Tatengue”, cheered the fans of the visiting team amid the team’s irregular phase in the Argentine League, in which it is in ninth place and far from the clock.

Lined up with three defenders and with Argentinian Germán Cano and Colombian Jhon Arias as forwards, Fluminense started pressing from the first minute of the game and dominated the first half, but struggled to overcome Argentina’s defensive wall.

The most dangerous move came from winger Marlon, who almost opened the score in the first minute of the game, but didn’t finish it.

Marlon became the protagonist in the first half, counter-attacking in plays with the creative Paulo Henrique Ganso and assists that Cano failed to complete.

Union managed to endanger Fabio’s goal on counter-attacks despite more time in defence, in one of which Jonatan Álvez almost gave the visitors the lead after 26 minutes, but shot out when he was alone up front from the goalkeeper.

After the move in which Álvez took advantage of a foul by Fluminense, the Rio de Janeiro side went on the attack again in the closing minutes of the first half, but Cano was aimless and Colombian Arias vanished completely.

For the second half, the Fluminense coach, Abel Braga, who had to try for a desperate home win, decided to send Fred, the team’s goalscorer and whoever he wanted to reserve, onto the field.

But the Argentine team returned more accurately and within minutes Luna Diale and Álvez surprised with dangerous shots, the second of which went through the goal, but the game was declared void for being out of place.

The impotence of the Rio de Janeiro tricolor, unable to generate danger and see the Union press, began to annoy the Fluminense fans, the vast majority of the 11,140 fans who attended the Maracana, and Braga for other player substitutions to try, which were received with boom.

The Argentine team, on the other hand, gradually increased their shots on target and showed their desire to surprise at the Maracana.

With Luiz Henrique and Yago Felipe on the field, Fluminense gained more dominance, but the time was not enough for the team to open the score.

Fluminense narrowly scored in the last minute of the game when Uruguayan referee Esteban Ostojich scored a penalty for the locals, but goalkeeper Mele saved Fred’s shot, until yesterday the hero and goalscorer of the tricolor.