by J.P. Devetori
After a promising start, Universitario disappointingly drew 1-1 with Cienciano at the Estadio Monumental. It was a forgettable night for the club, everyone played in their worst last night. It could’ve been worse but the result should’ve been avoided. Here’s all what happened.
The first half began with a spark for the “U” after Piero Guzman scored in the 5th minute (in his debut!). After that exciting start, things started to fall apart. The “U” kept losing possession to Cienciano. Turnovers were happening left and right like many times Jose Carvallo passed to the wrong player or when Roberto Gutierrez kept getting stripped off the ball every time he had it. The more Cienciano had possession, the less opportunities the “U” to create any further scoring chances.
The second half began with the expected disappointment. Cienciano’s Fernando Guerrero scored to tie the match in an untouchable volley goal in the 47th minute. Visible frustration were shown by everybody such as Alex Valera. Another notable debut for the “U” was the debut of Rodrigo Vilca. Vilca knows how to mark very well but missed his only scoring chance of the night. Piero Quispe made good hustle in fighting for 1v1 balls but seemed incompatible positional-wise such as with Hernan Novick. The defense had their worst night and seem to never function without Aldo Corzo (injury), Federico Alonso (injury), and Nelinho Quina (red card suspension). Even though we drew 1-1, it feels like a loss because everyone had their worst performance of the season.
Team performance rating: F
Like I already said, the “U” starting XI had their worst performance of the season. We faced a very weak Cienciano squad and they dominated possession throughout the 90 minutes. Things like that shouldn’t happen. The team looked unmotivated and played careless. Now the “U” is 5 points (2 matchdays) behind first place. The next 2 matches will be rough since Carvallo, Corzo, Valera, and Quintero will be on international duty. Quina will be back from suspension and hopefully Alonso too to boost our defense and help the “U” to get 6 points and stay in contention to win Fase 1.
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