In a hard-fought match, mainly contested in midfield, Azucareros and Escarlatas drew 0-0 in the second leg of the BetPlay Cup 2024 quarterfinals, a result that allowed América to advance to the next phase of the tournament.
The first warning of danger came early, in the 9th minute . Yerson Candelo, the Scarlet full-back, took a free kick that caused problems for the home defense. In his attempt to clear, José Caldera headed the ball towards his own goal, but it deflected and went out for a corner, preventing what could have been an own goal.
In the 16th minute, Cristian Colmán, Cali's striker, created one of the few clear chances for his team. Inside the penalty area, he unleashed a shot that América 's goalkeeper, Jorge Soto , easily controlled.
The match became more difficult for the home side when, in the 35th minute, Deportivo Cali captain Alex Mejía was sent off after fouling midfielder Franco Leys. Mejía received his second yellow card, leaving his team with 10 men for the remainder of the game.
Gallery
In the second half, América pressed to open the scoring. In the 64th minute, Felipe Gómez tried his luck with a powerful shot from outside the box. The shot, deflected by a defender, almost caught goalkeeper Alejandro Rodríguez off guard, but he reacted in time to send the ball out for a corner.
As regulation time was about to expire, Alexis Zapata surprised everyone with a long-range shot that forced Rodríguez to stretch out and deflect the ball into the corner.
Despite the goalless draw in Palmaseca, América de Cali secured their place in the semifinals thanks to their 2-0 victory in the first leg, with a brace from Duván Vergara . Now, Los Rojos await their next opponent, which will be the winner of the match between Atlético Bucaramanga and Deportivo Pasto.
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