Atletico Junior are clinging onto top spot going into the weekend’s fixtures after fighting back from 2-0 down to earn a draw at crisis club Cucuta.
Junior were left shell-shocked when Cucuta went at half-time with a comfortable lead, thanks to a scrappy goal from Harold Reina followed by a superb individual effort from William Zapata Brand, who danced past three defenders before chipping past the goalkeeper.
Junior looked dead and buried until the 72nd minute when Anselmo Almeida tapped in after a pinball goalmouth scramble. Four minutes later Juan Valenica was given time and space to drive in a right wing cross and salvage a point.
The league leaders will now travel to Once Caldas on Sunday, while Cucuta, still faced with the prospect of a player strike and rooted to the bottom of the table, will play Huila.
Junior currently shares the top spot with Chico and Quindio, all on 21 points. Chico scrapped past lowly La Equidad thanks to a last minute penalty from Edwin Movil. They will now face America de Cali, who suffered a set-back against Medellin on Wednesday. Medellin turned around their recent slump in form thanks to a last gasp free kick smashed into the top corner by Luis Fernando Mosquera, which gave them a 2-1 victory. Medellin will hope their revival continues on Sunday against Santa Fe, whose 2-1 victory over Once Caldas left in 8th place.
Quindio fought their way back to joint top spot with a 2-1 victory over Tolima. Quindio took an early lead thanks to Andrés Formento and although Wilmer Parra Cadena equalised before half-time, a Olmes García goal just after half-time secured their victory.
On Saturday, Quindio will travel to Itagui with both teams hoping to claim top spot for coming week. Itagui dropped down to fourth after they drew 1-1 with Huila on Tuesday.
Envigado are rapidly gaining ground on the top clubs and are now just one point behind Itagui and two behind the leaders. Their resurgence has been based around having the tightest defense in the league, having conceded only 12 goals all season. On Wednesday, they kept another clean sheet, and a skiddy 50-yard shot from Neider Morantes was enough to secure victory against Cali.
Envigado will now meet Millionarios, who finally began to show their cup winning form in the league on Wednesday with a 2-0 win against Nacional. Sloppy defending again cost Nacional as Luis Mosquera was left unmarked for the opener before they conceded a soft penalty for the second. Millionarios are now up to sixth place in the table.
The result see Nacional drop down to 11th place, although they are still just one point behind the joint 8th placed teams. They will now meet Real Cartagena, whose draw with Pereira left them in 14th. Pereira meanwhile, will take on 9th placed Tolima.
In the week’s other match, Santa Fe beat Once Caldas 2-1, leaving them level on points with 6th placed Millionarios.
Full schedule:
Saturday November 5th
3:30 PM Millonarios VS Envigado
3:30 PM Itagui VS Quindio
6:20 PM R.Cartagena VS Nacional
8:00 PM Tolima VS Pereira
8:00 PM Cali VS Equidad
Sunday November 6th
3:30 PM Chico VS America
3:30 PM Medellin VS Santa Fe
5:30 PM Once Caldas VS Junior
5:30 PM Cucuta VS Huila