Cerro Porteno Vs. Jaguares, 2011 Copa Libertadores: Cerro Advance With 1-0 Win

Cerro Porteno could have played for a 0-0 draw and advanced with that. After drawing Jaguares 1-1 in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores quarterfinal tie, a scoreless match would have moved them on on away goals. That is what was expected of Cerro. After all, their approach all tournament has been bore, bore, bore and find some way to advance. At home in the second leg though, Cerro pressed. They looked to attack and while they needed help from Jaguares to get their goal, they got their goal. They defeated Jaguares 1-0 in the match and 2-1 on aggregate to advance to the semifinals where they will play Santos for a spot in the final.

Neither team could score in the first half, but it wasn’t because neither side tried. Whenever either team had a chance to attack they did, but neither have much imagination in the final third. Most of the chances for both teams were half-chances and the goalkeepers were rarely threatened. Cerro found plenty of space on the wings, but had nothing from there, while Jaguares welcomed Jackson Benitez back from suspension and played through him to no avail.

The second half brought more of the same. The teams went forward, they gave it a go, but they just didn’t have the quality to do much near the goal. Once either team got into the final third, they were at a loss. Finally though, Jaguares gave Cerro a goal.

A Cerro corner found the head of a Jaguares defender with nobody around him. All he had to do was head the ball away and it wouldn’t have been difficult to do, but he mishit his header and instead hit it high into the air on the edge of the six-yard box. That’s when Fabia Villasenor came running out to punch it away, but he missed the punch. All Pedro Benitez had to do then was head the ball into the open goal, which he did to put Cerro on top.