Católica and Inter Draw in an Exciting Match.

By: Mauro | September 26th, 2008

At the end of the day, the result really justifies the play on the pitch. Honestly, either of these teams could have won last night’s match but it probably feels a bit more like a loss for Universidad Catolica and a bit more of a win for Internacional.

From the beginning of the match, both teams played an attractive style of football, where it seemed heavy on technique and less so on forceful direct play but despite this, the play was far from either penalty area.

With various starters taking the night off (Inter face cross town rivals Gremio this weekend), Inter was faced with playing a team that played a Brazilian style of football. That is, with the ball on the ground and lots of collective play and this made the match very entertaining.

In the first half, Católica had a few opportunities to score but not enough that you couldn’t count them on the fingers of your hand. But near the end of the first half, 19-year old Sebastian Barrientos had a wonderful give and go play with Julio Gutiérrez that allowed the former to get one past Inter keeper Clemer for the go ahead goal. 1-0 to Católica.

The second half ushered in a thick veil of fog that covered the stadium and near the end of the match, made it very difficult to see the play on the pitch. The Brazilians conceded the pitch to the Chilean side, who were playing well, but Inter lured them into a trap. With the Chilean side attacking, they exposed themselves at the back giving Inter the possibility to score. And anyone who knows a Brazilian club, knows that if the possibility is there, they can make it into a reality.

But the match was still a great spectacle and both sides attacked. Inter had more concrete opportunities and arrived at Católica keeper José Maria Buljubasich’s penalty area with more and more frequency, until the 85th minute. Adriano broke free on the counter and took a nice shot that went past Buljubasich and into the net. 1-1.

From that moment on, the Chilean side tried to respond and had about three good tries, but didn’t have enough time. Inter midfielder Andrés D’Alessandro was sent off in the 70th, a straight red, in the midsts of the Chilean’s onslaught. He will not play the second leg as this could possibly be his final match in the Sudamericana should Inter fail to advance.

Final Score: 1-1

I had this one going 2-1 to Católica and almost had them clear the one goal difference. But hey, this result will only make the second leg in Porto Alegre next week a little more exciting.

Feel free to check the CONMEBOL website for results and information about upcoming matches and for those of you in need of a bracket to get your heads around the competition, get one here.