Olympic Qualification Joy for La Roja Femenina
Chile's women team qualify for Tokyo 2020, Universidad Católica knocked off top spot & U23 Player of the Week.
La Roja Femenina Olympic Qualification
As covered in last week’s newsletter, Chile’s women side faced a pivotal two matches against Cameroon in their quest to reach the Olympic games for the first time. A well deserved and impressive display in a 2-1 success in the first leg proved enough for this determined and well-drilled set of players after they held out for a 0-0 draw in the second game.
Over the two legs, Chile rarely faced sustained spells of pressure as they managed to control long periods of both matches. In the first leg, they sought dominance of the match with the ball, working the West Africans hard around the pitch with their superior passing patterns and movement. The Cameroonians were aggressive in trying to deal with it and Chile’s first goal came from a free-kick that was bundled in with help from a Cameroon defender. The second was a well-worked set-piece, headed home by Carla Guerrero - the standout defender on the field across the two matches who got her just reward.
Manager José Letelier faced some calls to resign after the World Cup in France in 2019, but despite very little chance to prepare the sides with friendlies due to events in Chile and around the world in the past 18 months, he has seemingly got this side looking better than ever before — their work off the ball in the two games was the most notable improvement along with the general aura of confidence that this group now exudes.
The achievements of Chile’s women side in recent years are among the great accomplishments of Chilean sport. In qualifying for Tokyo 2020, La Roja Femenina became the first Chilean women’s sports team to qualify for an Olympic event. Congratulations to everybody involved in the success.
Chilean Primera Division - Matchday 3 Review - Audax Surprise Católica
Audax Italiano recorded the result of the week, deservedly beating Universidad Católica 1-0. They almost completely neutralised the threat of the champions restricting them to just one shot on target in the 90 minutes despite UC having 60% of the ball. It ended a run of 54 weeks at the top (or joint top on points) of the Chilean Primera Division for Católica.
O’Higgins won away against 10 man Colo-Colo for the second successive season. An early Tomas Alarcón penalty was cancelled out by Marcos Bolados before half-time. In the second half, Facundo Castro struck from range with twenty minutes remaining to give O’Higgins all three points. The Matias Zaldivia red card was unnecessary and violent and cost his side dearly.
There was controversy in the match 0-0 draw between Deportes La Serena and Universidad de Chile with La U having a late Mario Sandoval free-kick incorrectly ruled out by referee Angelo Hermosilla who hasn’t been back by the Chilean FA and will sit out this weekend’s fixtures. Curicó and Antofagasta also played out a draw, but in contrast to the La U game it was an entertaining, end-to-end clash that finished 1-1.
Melipilla sprang a surprise with a 2-1 away win over Unión Española while fellow newly-promoted side Ñublense recorded their first win too, also with a 2-1 win, against Cobresal.
Palestino and Everton played out a 1-1 draw in the capital with Palestino having to play with 10 men for 75 minutes. The red card actually seemed to help Los Árabes get more organised as the game progressed, but they were denied a first win of the campaign by an injury-time equaliser from substitute Cristian Menéndez.
U23 Player of the Week
One of the most interesting developments in Chilean football over the past year is the amount of young players now getting chances. The average age of a player in the top flight in Chile was just over 28 years old in 2019. Last year it dropped below 28, and so far this season the average age has been 26.8.
One club that is having a significant impact on this figure is Santiago Wanderers under the guidance of Ronald Fuentes. Last weekend saw them fall to an unfortunate 2-1 home defeat to Unión La Calera, but the performance of striker Aldrix Jara on his full debut caught the eye of many.
Jara scored an equaliser showing excellent movement and heading ability, the cross was from another promising Wanderers youngster Willian Gama who now has a goal and an assist in his first two appearances this season. Wanderers will be a side to keep an eye on this season purely for the young talent they are giving chances to.
Chilean Primera Division - Matchday 4 Preview
Unión La Calera play host to Audax Italiano meaning the top two teams after three matchdays go head to head on Saturday night in the standout clash of this round of fixtures. Reigning champions Universidad Católica have a home game against Curicó Unido which should see them get back to winning ways on Friday night.
Everton against Colo-Colo on Sunday afternoon is perhaps the most intriguing fixture of the round with many looking to see if Los Albos can bounce back from last week’s defeat. Universidad de Chile against Unión Española later that day could see the loser depart with their manager.
Be sure to check out my preview of the two Chilean sides in the Libertadores 2021 here:
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