After two matches, Atlético Bucaramanga returned to victory in Liga Betplay 2024-II against Atlético Nacional at the Américo Montanini stadium this Monday. It was a 1-0 win with Fabry Castro scoring.
In the first half, Bucaramanga was responsible for creating the best opportunities. The first chance came from Santiago Jiménez, who delivered a cross into the box searching for Andrés Ponce, but Felipe Aguirre timely cleared the ball to prevent a goal.
Around the 11th minute, the Leopards regained possession in the opposing half, and Fabián Sambueza sent a cross to Ponce, who managed to connect with the ball, sending it just wide of Harlen Castillo’s goal.
In the 25th minute, Sambueza controlled the ball in the rival half and then made a great through ball to Esneyder Mena, who shot with his right foot, but the ball went just past the side of the verdolaga goal. Before the end of this half, Bucaramanga had another clear chance in a play where Fabry Castro, Jiménez, and Mena combined, with the latter taking a powerful shot that was saved by ‘Chipi Chipi’ for a corner kick.
In the second half, Nacional had their first chance of the game with Andrés Sarmiento, who attempted a shot from outside the area that just went wide of Aldair Quintana’s goal. In the 66th minute, Ponce had another opportunity for Bucaramanga from a cross by Sambueza, which he headed, but his attempt went wide.
With the same formula of a dead ball, Bucaramanga, who deserved it, took the lead thanks to Fabry Castro, who fully connected with a cross from Sambueza on the right and sent it to the back of the net under the attentive gaze of goalkeeper Castillo, who had little chance to intervene.
In the 79th minute, Nacional had their second chance of the game with Pablo Ceppelini, who tried to place a free kick into the corner, but his shot went well over the bar.
In stoppage time, the visitors had their first shot on goal in a play where Marino Hinestroza delivered a cross from the right, and Ceppelini shot with his right foot into the hands of Quintana. A few minutes later, Bucaramanga’s goalkeeper became the star of the match, saving Nacional’s clearest opportunity, a precise header from Aguirre after a cross from Ceppelini, which Quintana brilliantly saved.
With this result, Bucaramanga entered the fight for a spot in the top eight, moving up to the tenth position on the table with 13 points, while Nacional remained in sixth place with 16.