The Deportivo Independiente Medellín (DIM) won 5-4 on penalties at Sports Tolima having drawn 1-1 in regular time and became champion of the 2020 Colombia Cup from the hand of Hernán Darío 'Bolillo' Gómez, a coach who broke a 30-year personal drought without winning titles.
The 65-year-old veteran strategist, who has led the national teams of Colombia, Ecuador and Panama to the World Cup, also won the victory just a few weeks after taking office and revalidated the title that “El Poderoso” won in the 2019 edition. .
The match was also the first in Colombia that had fans, as the local authorities allowed 30 fans of Independiente Medellín to enter the Atanasio Girardot stadium, who throughout the night encouraged the champion with their musical instruments.
The hosts went ahead with a goal from Argentine Agustín Vuletich, while equality was the work of central Álvaro Angulo. The figure was goalkeeper Andrés Mosquera, outstanding in regular time and outstanding in the charges from 12 meters.
In the penalty shootout, Matías Mier, Vuletich, Leonardo Castro, Andrés Cadavid and Juan Guillermo Arboleda scored for the reds
For Tolima, Sergio Mosquera, Daniel Cataño, Jaminton Campaz and Yeison Gordillo converted and the Costa Rican José Ortiz failed, who was blocked by the rival goalkeeper.
In the first quarter of an hour of the game, neither team managed to impose conditions and the game was fought in the center of the field, where the creatives had little space and every time they received they collided with an opponent.
However, the DIM opened the scoring at minute 20 when the Uruguayan Matías Mier, the club's most popular reinforcement for 2021, sent a precise cross on a free kick for Vuletich to head alone and send the ball to the back of the net.
The game, which had a lot of strong play in the center of the field, had little action in the areas and few attacks that were gestated by Jaminton Campaz, in Deportes Tolima, and Javier Reina, in 'el Poderoso'.
Just the only clear approach of the 'Vinotinto y oro' came at the end of the initial stage in a play by Campaz, who was going to send a center that was closed and that complicated the goalkeeper Andrés Mosquera, who with a slap sent the ball to the shot corner.
In the second half, Tolima took full control of the game and began to attack from the first moment, because in the play executed after the restart it was close to drawing in a good touch of the ball that led to a shot from winger Omar Albornoz that Mosquera cleared again.
This is how the Ibagué team approached the DIM goal on several occasions – with shots from Caicedo, Campaz and midfielder Juan David Ríos – but found a rival goalkeeper who looked very focused and cleared the shots they made.
'El Poderoso', meanwhile, appealed to the counterattack to seek the 2-0 but it was not very deep and, on the contrary, gave the ball to an opponent who cornered him in the Mosquera goal.
The VAR annulled Tolima in the 84th minute in a free kick that Campaz took and that the central Sergio Mosquera touched the ball with his arm before sending it to the back of the net.
However, equality reached 89 on another set piece headed by Caicedo, saved by goalkeeper Mosquera and on the rebound by the other center-back, Álvaro Angulo, sent the ball to the back of the net and forced penalties.
However, in the collections the DIM was superior and thus achieved the first title of the year in Colombia.
Data sheet:
1. Independent Medellín: Andrés Mosquera; Juan Guillermo Arboleda, Víctor Moreno, Andrés Cadavid, Germán Gutiérrez; David Loaiza, James Sánchez (m.79, Jaen Pineda), Robert Harrys (m.72, Leonardo Castro), Javier Reina (m.75, Juan Pablo Gallego), Matías Mier, and Agustín Vuletich.
Coach: Hernán Darío 'Bolillo' Torres.
1. Sports Tolima: Álvaro Montero; Nilson Castrillón (m.85, Luis Miranda -m.92, William Parra-), Anderson Angulo, Sergio Mosquera, Jeison Angulo; Yeison Gordillo, Juan David Ríos (m.64, Juan Pablo Nieto), Anderson Plata (m.64, Daniel Cataño), Jaminton Campaz, Omar Albornoz (m.64, José Ortiz), and Juan Fernando Caicedo.
Coach: Hernán Torres.
Goals: 1-0, m.20: Agustín Vuletich. 1-1, 89: Álvaro Angulo.
Referee: the Colombian Alexander Ospina. He admonished Angulo, Ríos, Sánchez, Loaiza, Gordillo, Mosquera and Vuletich.
Incidents: Final of the Colombia Cup played at the Atanasio Girardot stadium, in Medellín.