Friday Night Lights: The Red Duel at El Campín
Ah, Friday night! That magical time when people gather to witness football and unleash their inner gladiators in the stands. El Campín was packed tighter than a can of sardines, with Santa Fe fans ready to defend their turf against DIM. And what a spectacle it was!
The Setting of the Show
Picture this: The locals are buzzing with excitement, while the visitors from Antioquia arrived with the weight of desperation. It’s a classic case of “Win or Cry”. The Bogotá crowd was like an angry mob ready to roast marshmallows over the visiting team’s failure—or rather, their inability to score!
Familiar Faces Fuelling the Fire
Now, nothing spices up a match like a sprinkle of drama and personal vendettas. Players like Fainer Torijano, Baldomero Perlaza, Jersson González, and Francisco Chaverra, who once donned the red and white of Santa Fe, were under the kind of pressure that would make a diamond blush! Every time they touched the ball, the crowd erupted into a chorus of deafening whistles—like a bad opera, really. You could almost hear the fans yelling, “You can take the player out of Santa Fe, but you can’t take the Santa Fe out of the player!”
Moment of Madness
Speaking of chaos, it seems the Medellín players were in for a treat as they prepared for a corner kick. The stands transformed into a battlefield (no casualties reported) as the fans decided to express their feelings through projectile throwing! Who knew football was also a sport of dodging debris?
A Game of Possession with No Scoring
As the first half unfolded, Santa Fe seemed to be shining like a firefly on steroids. They outplayed DIM in almost every statistic imaginable: shots on goal, possession, passes. You name it! It was like watching a cat toy with a hapless mouse—but without the satisfying end.
But wait a minute! Hold your horses! Despite all this possession theater, the scoreboard still read 0-0. It felt like that moment in a relationship where everything seems perfect, but then you remember they refuse to share the last slice of pizza. Cruel. Just cruel.
The Moment We’ve Been Waiting For
Fast forward to minute 37. A cross from Chaverra—and BOOM! Méndez García scores! His ninth goal this season and a cheeky little celebration with Chaverra, who wisely decided to keep his arms down. Not an easy feat when the crowd loves you one moment and hates you the next!
And Then There Were Two
As the second half kicked off, things went from riveting to rivetingly chaotic. The ever-reliable Éder Chaux, the Medellín goalkeeper, was called into action time and again. But alas, magic happened in the form of Carlos Albornoz, who danced through the defense like they were doing the cha-cha while he was doing the tango! What a moment!
The Aftermath: Same Old Song
After all that drama, the game ended in another draw for DIM, hitting them with more disappointment than a birthday party without cake. With this result, they had to tighten their shoelaces and hope for a miracle to qualify for the playoffs—talk about needing divine intervention!
What’s Next?
Now, the People’s Team is off to Tunja to play against Chicó. Can you imagine the travel chaos? It’s like sending a group of toddlers to a zoo without any snacks, and you can bet they’ll need some reinforcements if they’re serious about making a run for the Sudamericana in 2025!
The Line Up
DIM’s Starting XI: Eder Chaux; Jherson Mosquera, Luis Escorcia, Fainer Torijano, Daniel Londoño; Baldomero Perlaza, Homer Martínez; Jersson González, Francisco Chaverra, Jimer Fory; Ménder García.
Santa Fe’s Starting XI: Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo; Elvis Perlaza, Iván Scarpeta, David Ramírez, Juan Millán, Omar Albornoz; Jhojan Torres, Daniel Torres, Juan Zuluaga; Hugo Rodallega, Santiago Mosquera.
So, there you have it: a night of missed opportunities and nail-biting excitement in Bogotá. Until next time, let’s hope the players figure out how to score without turning into a disaster film. Who’s ready for another round of chaos?
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Friday night. The El Campín stadium was packed. Santa Fe fans came to see the red duel between the local team and DIM, valid for the fifth round of the League.
The Antioquian team arrived in need. The people of Bogota, for their part, with the idea of confirming themselves at the top of the table of positions. The atmosphere was hostile for the visiting team’s players.
Especially for Fainer Torijano, Baldomero Perlaza, Jersson González and Francisco Chaverrawho in the past wore the shirt of the Bogotá team. Every time they touched the ball, a deafening whistle could be heard on the capital stage.
In fact, a corner kick in favor of Medellín took a while to be executed because from the stands of the stadium They threw things at Chaverra and González, who stood together at the flag before the charge. Hugo Rodallega, captain of the capital team, intervened. He asked the fans for restraint. They listened to him.
Medellín had a good start to the game. He reached the goal defended by Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo, former goalkeeper of the Paisa team, several times, but his attackers had a hard time defining. Then Santa Fe played what it usually does at home: crush the rival, step on the area, put high pressure on them. But he didn’t reach the goal either.
We had to wait until minute 37 for the scoring to open. After a cross from Francisco Chaverra with his right leg, Ménder García scored his ninth goal with the El Poderoso shirt, team to which he joined at the beginning of the year at the request of coach Alfredo Arias.
He celebrated the goal with a hug to Chaverra, who stayed still so as not to arouse the anger of the fans who less than six months ago cheered him on when he played in Bogotá.
There was nothing to do
Santa Fe surpassed DIM in all statistics during the first half: He finished six times on goal, while the Antioquians did so only three times; had the ball more (finished with 52% of the possession); made more passes (193-178) and had more accuracy (83% – 79%).
However, the King of Hearts was the one who finished the first half with the advantage. In part, thanks to the good presentation of goalkeeper Éder Chaux, who cut off at least seven attacking plays by the Bogotá team with his intervention.
The goalkeeper from Tolima, who scored 39 duels defending the Medellín goal, could not do anything when, in the 57th minute, the left winger Carlos Albornoz received a ball outside the area, hooked inside looking for the penalty spot, kicked right and nailed the ball in the corner.
Chaux stretched, but not even with a hero’s cape would he have been able to stop the ball. The flash of magic from the Cartagena attacker threw away all the effort that Medellín made throughout the match to achieve a victory against Santa Fe in Bogotá territory after seven years (the last was a 1-0 on April 3, 2017 ), which would keep him with a chance of qualifying for the home runs.
But the lead didn’t come. In Bogotá, DIM added its seventh draw of the closing tournament, reaching 16 points and, except for a miraclehe was left without a chance to get into the group of eight (he had to win the five games he had left to reach 30 points).
Now, The People’s Team has to travel to Tunja to face Chicó on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Betplay Cup, tournament through which Medellín could reach the Sudamericana in 2025.
Relive the match minute by minute here:
These are the DIM holders:
Eder Chaux; Jherson Mosquera, Luis Escorcia, Fainer Torijano, Daniel Londoño; Baldomero Perlaza, Homer Martínez; Jersson González, Francisco Chaverra, Jimer Fory; Ménder García.
These are the headlines from Santa Fe:
Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo; Elvis Perlaza, Iván Scarpeta, David Ramírez, Juan Millán, Omar Albornoz; Jhojan Torres, Daniel Torres, Juan Zuluaga; Hugo Rodallega, Santiago Mosquera.
