Junior de Barranquilla leaves many doubts with the recent era under coach César Farías, and the result ended up being unfavorable for the shark after surprisingly losing 4-3 at the Metropolitano stadium against Águilas Doradas. However, the match was complex, with defensive errors and controversial refereeing calls.
The golden team started to spread their wings and fly high at the Metropolitano from the first minutes, making the home team look bad, as they could not find answers to the hosts’ tactics.
The big surprise of the match came in the 16th minute when Jeisson Quiñones scored with a great shot on goal that beat Santiago Mele, who had to retrieve the ball from his net.
Águilas Doradas continued their dominance and scored the second goal in the 30th minute through Jorge Ramos, who executed a penalty very well by placing it at the bottom of Mele’s left post, unleashing his frustration at not being able to prevent the disaster that was looming.
In a frantic move, Junior attacked after being two goals down and, by chance, found the discount goal in the 45+4 minute when an own goal by Víctor Moreno gave a bit of life to the shark. 1-2 on the scoreboard, and everything would be decided in the second half.
That goal before halftime motivated them, and early on in the 60th minute, Junior started to dream by equalizing 2-2 thanks to Emmanuel Olivera, who headed the ball and took advantage of the assist from Yeferson Moreno with a cross into the area from a corner kick.
However, the visitors wanted to prove that their goals at the Metropolitano were not a fluke and quickly responded thanks to their star Jeison Quiñones, who took advantage of a header to score his double and put his team back on top at 3-2.
That was a strong emotional blow for Junior, and Águilas Doradas knew it, so Yéiler Góez was the one to finish with a powerful right-footed shot to make it an impressive 4-2 in Barranquilla.
Despite the significant difference, Junior found a last breath in the final minutes when they were awarded a penalty that Steven ‘Titi’ Rodríguez converted, allowing them to tighten the game close to the end.
In the 90+3 minute, there was a handball in the area by an Águilas Doradas player, and astonishingly, VAR determined that there was no foul and did not even call the central referee, Jhon Ospina.
Although Junior insisted in those remaining added minutes, Águilas Doradas maintained the one-goal difference and ended up winning 4-3 in a crazy match marked by many defensive failings from both teams.