Santa Fe needed this one. Playing at home, they faced Platense knowing that points were currency.
En las noches de copa, los equipos no siempre juegan bien, pero a veces juegan lo suficiente. Santa Fe, con la necesidad como combustible, superó a Platense 2-1 en El Campín en la quinta jornada del grupo de Copa Libertadores, sosteniéndose en el torneo con goles de Scarpeta y Rodallega. La victoria no fue elegante ni tranquila, pero en el fútbol de eliminación, sobrevivir también es una forma de avanzar. Con cinco puntos y un último partido pendiente ante Peñarol en Montevideo, el destino de Santa Fe sigue abierto, suspendido entre la esperanza y la incertidumbre.
- Santa Fe llegó al partido sabiendo que perder significaba quedar al borde de la eliminación, con la presión de un torneo continental que no perdona la mediocridad.
- El primer tiempo fue un ejercicio de frustración colectiva: Platense administró el juego con frialdad y Santa Fe no encontró ni ritmo ni profundidad durante cuarenta y cinco minutos.
- La entrada de Jhojan al inicio del complemento cambió el pulso del partido, y Scarpeta aprovechó un córner para abrir el marcador con un cabezazo preciso.
- Rodallega amplió la ventaja con un remate de tres dedos al palo lejano, pero Lotti descontó de cabeza para Platense y Santa Fe tuvo que defender con diez hombres por la lesión de Fagúndez.
- El pitazo final llegó con el marcador intacto y Santa Fe con vida, aunque el verdadero examen llega el 27 de mayo en el Estadio Centenario ante un Peñarol que no tendrá piedad.
Santa Fe necesitaba ganar y lo hizo, aunque no sin sufrimiento. En El Campín, un miércoles de mayo, recibieron a Platense en la quinta fecha del grupo de Copa Libertadores con la clasificación como única moneda válida. El resultado final fue 2-1, pero el camino para llegar a él estuvo lejos de ser sencillo.
El primer tiempo fue opaco. Platense vino a no perder y lo logró con comodidad durante cuarenta y cinco minutos. Santa Fe generó poco, Perlaza no tuvo precisión en el ala, y el portero Borgogno se convirtió en el jugador más activo del partido, ralentizando cada reinicio hasta ganarse una amarilla. El descanso llegó sin goles y con más preguntas que respuestas.
El técnico Repetto movió el tablero al inicio del complemento y el equipo respondió. A los dos minutos de la segunda mitad, Scarpeta cabeceó un córner al fondo de la red. Platense intentó reaccionar con juego aéreo, pero Santa Fe mantuvo el control. A los setenta minutos, Rodallega definió con un toque sutil al palo lejano para poner el 2-0 y pareció que el partido estaba resuelto.
No lo estaba. Lotti descontó de cabeza casi de inmediato y la tensión regresó. Para complicar aún más las cosas, la lesión de Fagúndez dejó a Santa Fe con diez hombres en el tramo final. El equipo se replegó, resistió, y cuando Obrian tuvo la oportunidad de sentenciar prefirió disparar en lugar de asistir. No importó: el árbitro pitó el final con el marcador a favor.
Con cinco puntos, Santa Fe sigue viva en la Copa Libertadores. Pero la prueba definitiva llega el 27 de mayo en Montevideo, donde Peñarol espera en el último partido del grupo. Esa noche se sabrá si esta victoria fue el inicio de algo o simplemente una prórroga.
Santa Fe needed this one. Playing at home in El Campín on a Wednesday night in May, they faced Platense in the fifth round of Copa Libertadores group play knowing that points were currency and their tournament life depended on it. What they got was a match that split cleanly in half: forty-five minutes of suffocating tedium, then forty-five minutes of actual football, ending 2-1 with the three points secured and their qualification hopes still breathing.
The first half was the kind of soccer that makes you understand why people turn off early. Santa Fe, despite needing a win, generated almost nothing. Platense came to manage the game, not win it, and for long stretches they succeeded. When Lencina had a chance in the eleventh minute, it looked dangerous until the flag went up for offside. Santa Fe's only real threat came through Perlaza on the wing, but without any precision or follow-through. It wasn't until the thirtieth minute that Daniel Torres got a clear header, and then Scarpeta had another aerial chance moments later. Platense's goalkeeper Borgogno became the match's most active player, deliberately slowing the restart of play until the referee finally showed him a yellow card in the closing minutes. The whistle blew on a goalless, joyless first forty-five.
The second half arrived with Santa Fe showing actual intent. Coach Repetto made a substitution, bringing on Jhojan for Toscano, and the shift was immediate. Two minutes into the half, from a corner on the east side of the field, Scarpeta rose above everyone and headed it past Borgogno. One-nil. Platense answered with their own set piece, but Daniel Torres cleared the danger. The rhythm had changed. Zapiola tested Marmolejo with a powerful shot at fifty-four minutes, forcing a corner, and Platense's aerial game began to trouble Santa Fe's defense. Repetto responded with more changes, sending on Obrian, Fagúndez, and Lovera.
Fagúndez thought he had scored but was flagged offside. Then, at the seventy-minute mark, Rodallega finished a well-constructed move with a delicate three-fingered touch that found the far post. Two-nil. Santa Fe looked to have control. But Platense, refusing to fold, struck back almost immediately. Another cross found the back post, and Lotti headed it home to make it 2-1 and suddenly the match was tense again.
What followed was Santa Fe in survival mode. Fagúndez's injury had left them with ten men, and they retreated into a defensive shape, looking to hold what they had and hit on the counter. Obrian nearly made it three at eighty-five minutes but chose poorly, shooting when passing options existed. The corner that followed came to nothing. When the final whistle came, Santa Fe had their victory, their five points, and their place still in the tournament.
But this was only a reprieve. The real test comes on May 27 in Montevideo, where Peñarol waits in the final group match. That's where Santa Fe's Copa Libertadores story will be decided. For now, they've kept themselves alive. Whether they can finish the job is another question entirely.
Citas Notables
Santa Fe played the final stretch with 10 men due to Fagúndez's injury, forcing them into a defensive shape to hold their lead.— Match report
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did the first half feel so empty? Was Santa Fe just not ready, or was Platense that effective at shutting them down?
Both, really. Platense came with a clear plan—control the tempo, don't lose—and Santa Fe seemed to accept it for forty-five minutes. They needed the win but played like they had all the time in the world. It wasn't until the second half that they actually showed up.
The injury to Fagúndez late in the match—how much did that change what Santa Fe could do?
It forced them into pure defense mode. They went from trying to extend the lead to just holding on. With ten men and Platense pushing, they had to abandon any pretense of controlling the game and just survive.
Rodallega's goal looked like the kind that should have sealed it, but then Platense scored almost immediately. Did that moment shift the psychology of the match?
Completely. You go from 2-0 and thinking it's done to 2-1 and suddenly you're nervous. Platense showed they weren't going away, and Santa Fe had to dig in mentally as much as physically.
What does this result actually mean for their chances in the group?
They're alive. Five points keeps them in the conversation, but that final match in Montevideo against Peñarol is everything. This win buys them a chance, but it's not a guarantee of anything.
If they'd lost today, would they have been eliminated?
Not mathematically, but it would have been very difficult. This was a must-win, and they found a way. That matters more than the performance itself.