15 Apr 2009
Caracas FC on Tuesday night came through their all or nothing game against Everton in the Copa Santander Libertadores when they defeated the Chileans 1-0 at the UCV’s Olympic Stadium, the triumph even sweeter a couple of hours later when Chivas and Lanús failed to break the deadlock in Jalisco allowing the Avila Reds to reach the last 16 of the competition to keep their cup dreams alive.

Caracas it was who managed to deal more easily with the poor state of the pitch and, thanks to a magnificently taken penalty kick by Dario Figueroa following a foul on Emilio Rentería, avenged a one nil loss to Everton at their Sausalito stadium in the opening Group Six match for both clubs.



From the opening whistle, the Reds went in search of a winning goal and on four minutes Rafael Castellín came close to doing that in a move begun by Gabriel Cichero. The Caracas wing back lofted a ball to Rodrigo Prieto whose header then found the ¨Hurricane¨. He then turned and struck the ball with his left peg only to be denied by goalkeeper Dalasso.

Everton, managed by Nelson Acosta, were again tested by the home side but the visitors managed to handle both the imperfect pitch and the cheering fans getting behind their team.

The first half ended with lots of midfield possession, a few chances on goal, but no-one to finish the job.

After the break, Caracas were less nervous and began to play well as they went in search of the all-important win. The introduction of Emilio Rentería gave the side a new dimension.

“Stag¨, as he is called, in fact changed the game completely, so much so that with his first touch of the ball he helped bring about the first and only goal.



The striker was brought down in the box following a pass from Figueroa. Colombian referee Albert Duarte had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Figueroa it was who stepped up to brilliantly slip the ball inside Dalsasso’s right hand post in the 62nd minute.

Figueroa, who used to play for the Reds’ rivals Maracaibo in the Venezuelan league, had only just ended his celebratory run towards the fans when violence broke out on the pitch. Everton, it was, who paid the price when Rodrigo Ramírez was sent packing with a straight red after his elbow smashed into Rentería´s face.

The Reds now began to take more control of the game, calm and collected in defence, as Everton continued with their more physical approach, although the Blue and Golds had their moments and might have turned the result on its head.

At the sound of the referee’s three blasts of the whistle, the Olympic Stadium erupted into scenes of sheer joy and emotion as the vital three points went into the bag to keep the dream of qualifying for the next phase alive.



A couple of hours later, the dream became reality when Chivas and Lanús drew 0-0 at the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara leaving the Group Six table with Caracas atop on nine points followed by Chivas on 8, Everton still with seven and Lanús, now eliminated, with just three.

In the final group matches, Chivas travel to Chile to take on Everton with the winner going through to the last 16. A draw would favour the Mexicans but Everton will be out to avenge a huge 6-2 loss when the sides met in Mexico in the second round of matches earlier this year. Caracas are safely through no matter what happens on their visit to Buenos Aires to face the current Argentine league leaders.



The Reds had previously reached the last 16 in 1996 and 2007. Once again in 2009 they have surprised the footballing world by doing it again.

CARACAS FC: Renny Vega, Giovanni Romero, José Manuel Rey, Deivis Barone, Gabriel Cichero, Edgar Jiménez, Luís Vera, Darío Figueroa, Jesús Gómez, Rodrigo Prieto, Rafael Castellín.

SUBSTITUTES: Javier Toyo, Jaime Bustamante, Franklin Lucena, Gerardo Torres, Zamir Valoyes, Rolando Suárez, Emilio Rentería.

EVERTON : Gustavo Dalsasso, Rodrigo Ramírez, Adrián Rojas, Fernando Saavedra, Leandro Delgado, Nicolás Freitas, Cristian Uribe, Jaime Riveros, Ezequiel Miralles, Roberto Gutiérrez.

SUBSTITUTES: Nicolas Peric, Marcos Velasquez, Fernando Manrique, Roberto Cornejo, Roberto Reyes, Sebastian Penco, Jose Luis Muños.

Yellow Card: Nicolas Freitas 23 min. (Everton), Jesus Gomez 30 min. (CFC).