08 May 2009
By Carlos Mauricio Ramirez, Caracas FC Press

Caracas FC went down 2-1 on Thursday afternoon in Ecuador against Deportivo Cuenca at the Alejandro Serrano Aguilar stadium in their last 16, first leg Copa Santander Libertadores tie.

Heavy rain brought about a slight delay in the match with pools of water covering parts of the ground, but that did nothing to prevent the Reds from taking an early lead through Gabriel Cichero in the fourth minute.

The left wing-back nipped into the box following a Jose Manuel Rey free kick and his header made the score 1-0.

Cuenca, despite the bad state of the pitch and an adverse score-line, went onto the attack but were denied time and time again by an in-form Renny Vega and a solid defence which kept out manager Guillermo Duro’s side.

On 21 minutes, the first controversial decision took place when a Cuenca player fell with four players around the ball in the middle of a pool-soaked centre-field.

Peruvian referee Victor Hugo Rivera blew for a foul but following intense pressure from Cuenca players and officials, Rafael Castellin received his marching orders. Caracas were down to ten men.

That decision changed the dynamics of the match with Cuenca feeling more adventurous and the Reds trying to hold off the impending storm.

It was still 1-0 at half-time to Caracas but Cuenca continued to press hard in the second half.

The referee was the subject of further controversy in the 57th minute when he pointed to the spot following an alleged foul by Franklin Lucena on Preciado. Lucena threatened to tackle with his right foot but didn’t, Preciado however went down and Rivero obliged allowing Rodrigo Texeira to tie things up.

Villalba, having beaten the offside trap and winning a one-on-one with Vega in the 70th minute, made the score 2-1 to the hosts in the 70th minute.

The away goal rule, however, means that if the Reds win 1-0 against Cuenca in Caracas next Tuesday, May 12 (kick off 9.15pm), they will reach the quarterfinals of the Copa Santander Libertadores for the first time in their history.

LINE UPS:  

Deportivo Cuena (2) – Israel Alvarez – William Espana (Preciado 37), Norberto Orrego, Bernardo Chila, Juan Guerron (Garcia 85) – Giancarlo Ramos, Jose Granda, Holger Matamoros, Juan Carlos Paredes – Ismael Villalba and Rodrigo Texeira. Manager Guillermo Duro.

Caracas FC (1) – Renny Vega – Gerardo Torres, Jose Manuel Rey, Deivis Barone, Gabriel Cichero – Luis Vera (Bustamante 36), Franklin Lucena, Dario Figueroa, Jesus Gomez (Renteria 33 – Valoyes 63) – Rodrigo Prieto and Rafael Castellin. Manager Noel Sanvicente.

Referee: Victor Rivera (Peru).

Assistant Referees: Luos Avila and Juan Sulca (Peru).

Goals: Cuenca – Texeira (58), Villalba (70). Caracas – Cichero (4).

Yellow Cards – Cuenca – Alvarez (22), Texeira (42), Villalba (85). Caracas – Cichero (66).

Red Card – Castellin (20).