Velez take valuable draw
Argentinian champions Velez Sarsfield picked up a valuable 1-1 draw from their Copa Sudamericana quarter-final first leg against Colombia's Independiente Santa Fe.
The hosts had plenty of possession in the testing conditions of Bogota, 2,600 metres above sea level, but created very few chances. Velez had the first effort through Emiliano Papa's sixth minute header, before Guillermo Franco went close nine minutes later.
Gerardo Bedoya created Independiente's first opportunity in the 23rd minute with a free-kick that goalkeeper Barovero cleared. However, the home side were ahead two minutes later when Bedoya's free-kick took a deflection which deceived Barovero.
The Argentinian side were struggling to get a foothold in the match but Independiente were unable to make their superiority pay - despite the impressive efforts of Jonathan Copeta.
After the break Velez slowly began to take control of the ball, while the Colombians were heavily reliant on counter-attacks. And the equalising goal came 14 minutes from time when Papa crossed from the left for David Ramirez to score.
Independiente tried to react, and Bedoya came close to scoring again with a long range shot in the 83rd minute, although soon after he was dismissed after a foul brought him his second yellow card of the match.
The dismissal ended home supporters' hopes of a rousing finish by their team, who will need an impressive performance in the second leg in Buenos Aires if they are to reach the semi-finals of the competition.
