A Night Of High Drama in the Copa Libertadores
A Night Of High Drama in the Copa Libertadores
The equation in Group 2 going into the last group games was simple. Lanús were already through as the top team in the group. The winner of the game between Olimpia and Emelec in Paraguay would join the Argentineans in the knockout rounds. A stalemate in that game would send Olimpia through only if Flamengo failed to beat Lanús. The Brazilians needed a win at home along with a draw in the other Group 2 encounter to progress. These were the possible permutations. As both matches kicked off simultaneously, there was a feeling that a night of drama was about to unfold. What followed was beyond what anyone had imagined.
Lady Luck smiled broadly at Flamengo in the beginning as goals from Wellington and Deivid put them 2x0 up against Lanús in forty-two minutes. With no goals at that point between Olimpia and Emelec, Ronaldinho and company were going through to the next round. It took only two minutes for the situation to change. A goal from Olimpia’s Arnaldo Castorini meant that the Paraguayans were in pole position going into the half-time break of both games.
Flamengo soon extended their lead after the break. Now O Rubro-Negro just had to hold on - a task that they had failed at in three previous group games - and hope that Emelec would come to their rescue. The Ecuadorians duly obliged as Marcos Mondaini grabbed an equalizer to make the score 1x1.At this point Flamengo were home and dry, but the water was still at their doorstep. Still, for twenty minutes, the possibility of getting wet was held at bay as both results held. Then in the eighty-eight minute, the madness began.
