South American Dispatch: Fluminense Battered In Quito

Estudiantes lost the second of their rescheduled Apertura matches as they went down to a 1-0 home defeat to Colon last night. The 2009 Copa Libertadores winners have had to move a number of matches forward to allow them to compete in the Club World Cup next month and the fixture congestion seems to have put pay to their hopes of winning the title this season.

Both sides showed signs of fatigue last night but it was Colon who walked away with all the spoils with a winner in second half injury time. Neito bagged his 11th goal of the season right at the death to give the visitors maximum points and secure Colon’s own passage to next year’s Copa Libertadores.

Since his move from Huracan, Nieto’s goals have added another dimension to the Colon attack and his strike last night moved him to within one goal of Argentina’s top scorer Silva of Banfield in the Apertura charts.

Estudiantes meanwhile are now six points behind league leaders Banfield and have played an extra two games. The defeat effectively ends any hopes Estudiantes had of winning the league this season although they still have the Club World Cup in Dubai to look forward to.

Last week Estudiantes played another fixture that was moved forward to accommodate their trip to the Middle East and also went down to defeat in that contest. On that occasion own goals from Veron and Alayes as well as a strike from Castillejos consigned the team to a 3-0 defeat against relegation threatened Rosario Central.

Estudiantes now travel to River at the weekend before jetting off for the Club World Cup where they hope to meet FC Barcelona in the final. Colon will be looking to end their season on a high and they entertain title chasing Newell’s at the weekend.

LDU Send Fluminense Home With A Nosebleed

Liga De Quito took their tally to 12 goals in their last two home games in the Copa Sudamericana as they racked up a 5-1 advantage over Fluminense in the first leg of this year’s final.

After thumping River Plate of Montevideo 7-0 at home in the semi-finals to set up a repeat of the 2008 Copa Libertadores final, Liga De Quito showed they still had plenty left in tank as they ripped into Fluminense.

The altitude of Quito played its part but make no mistake the Ecuadorans are a useful side packed with talent.

It was Fluminense who opened the scoring with a strike from Marquinho in the first minute of the match but it was to be all down hill from there for the Brazilians.

A move from a quickly worked throw-in saw Mendez grab the equaliser on 20 minutes and by the hour mark he had completed his hat-trick to give the home side a 3-1 lead.

Further strikes from Salas and De la Cruz gave Liga De Quito a four goal advantage to take to the Maracana for the second leg next week.

Although Fluminense now face a huge uphill battle it is worth noting that the 2008 Copa Libertadores final which was also contested between these two team eventually finished 5-5 on aggregate before Liga De Quito eventually won out on penalties.

Hernanes Coy On Sao Paulo Wrapping Up The Title Early

Sao Paulo’s talented midfielder Hernanes is refusing to get carried away despite his team leading the league with only two games of the season to play. The right combination of results can see Sao Paulo awarded the trophy this Sunday but Hernanes is staying focused on the job in hand.

"I’m not worried if the title will come or not because I just want to go there and play a good game," the 2008 Brasileiro’s Footballer of the Year said. "We’ll get the results when we need them regardless of whether it happens in this game or the next one."

Sao Paulo travel to a team with little left to play for this season on Sunday but despite little being at stake for Goias, Hernanes still expects a stern test.

"The game against Goias will be tough, all games are tough at this stage of the season," Hernanes said.

For Sao Paulo to wrap up the title this weekend they must defeat Goias and hope Flamengo lose to Corinthians while Internacional and Palmeiras can only manage draws in their games.

It is possible Sao Paulo will be without Jean, Dagoberto and Borges for the weekend although Hernanes is not to concerned with his club’s injury list.

"We went to Rio and despite getting beaten by Botafogo we could have easily won that match," Hernanes said. "Lads like Wellington and Henry came in and played well. We have the players to cover absences but saying that if the three injured players are available then it is better."