Atlético Nacional Don’t Make it Easy For Fluminense

By: Mauro | May 1st, 2008

Atlético Nacional started last night’s match in great form. They controlled the ball and played a nice brand of football looking to find the difference making goal right away. Camilo Zuñiga was the most effective player on the Colombian side.

Fluminense sort of hung back and waited for the counter attack with a very agile and mobile (I rhymed!!) Júnior César who had a great match and proved to be important in more than one way. He beat his defender and was left one on one with the keeper David Ospina and Ospina had to choose whether to foul him or give him the goal. So he fouled him, can you blame him? I know I would have fouled the shit out of him. He was sent off and Atlético Nacional was left with only 10 men. The Colombian side’s coach Héctor Quintabiani was forced to sub on his reserve keeper Julián Barahona to cover the empty spot. Thiago Neves set it up and slotted it home past the fresh keeper into the net.

From that moment on, Atlético Nacional was rattled and seemed to lose control of the match. Flu seemed to settle in quite comfortably into the control of the match and the piece of mind of being up a goal against a ten man squad. But the Colombians fought back a bit and earned some control before the end of the first half but it wasn’t enough to get them a goal.

In the second half, Atlético surprisingly came out and took control of the match and found themselves close to Henrique again. Only 7 minutes into the second half, Francisco Arrué scored after the ball rebounded around the area and landed at his feet.

This motivated the home side and had a second opportunity but it was not to be. Fluminense was still playing the counter attack and off a very hard shot from Dario Conca that caught Barahona by surprise. Both sides exchanged a few more opportunities and that was it.

Flu has one foot in the next round with this scoreline. I had them punishing Atlético Nacional a little more. 3-1 was my prediction, Flu were only one goal better. But kudos to the Colombians. They put up quite a fight while down a man.

Check the CONMEBOL website for results, stats, articles and upcoming matches.