Aurora yesterday enjoyed its first victory of the year in a very special match: the Cochabamba derby against Wilstermann, which it beat 1-0 in the 151st match ever played at the Félix Capriles stadium.
In addition to the three points, the Celeste won the first derby of the year and the gate. A totally rounded and victorious day for the popular team.
Prior to the match, a fight between Aurora and Wilstermann fans at the north end of the stadium sparked flared up between the two sides. The immediate response of the police prevented a major conflict.
The match started with Aurora not giving up looking for Luis Cardenas' goal, while El Rojo did not hold anything back and with Cristian "Pochi" Chavez showed an offensive soccer.
When the match was falling into a pit due to the inaccuracies of both teams, Aurora broke the tie in the 24th minute, when a cross by Leandro Maygua was solved by Denis Pinto, who rose in the middle of the red defense to head the ball in (1-0).
The cold water bucket forced the Aviadores to look for the equalizer, but they could not find the clear shot to breach Agustín Cousillas' goal.
Pinto had another chance at 29' ST to extend the score in favor of the People's Team, but the goalkeeper Luis Cárdenas won the one-on-one.
At 36' PT, Carlos Áñez put on his striker's suit and faced Agustín Cousillas' goal, who stifled the Reds' goal cry.
The figure of Cárdenas began to grow as the sky-blue team turned the field in their favor. After the first goal and until the end of the first half, the red goalkeeper cleared at least four dangerous plays.
In the second half, Aurora and Wilstermann held nothing back. Both went forward ready to kill or die, with the idea of getting the victory.
The Celestes were more practical and had several chances to increase the score, such as Jair Torrico's header that Cárdenas cleared with a last-ditch effort.
The entry of Thabiso Brown, an attacker from Lesotho, gave more power to the offense of the popular team, but they lacked effectiveness to breach the opponent's goal.
In desperation, DT Miguel Ponce sent his best players on the field in an attempt to equalize.
Rojo lacked accuracy and tranquility. They were unable to find their footing and in front of a tight defense they were unable to do much damage in the course of the match.
The sky-blue strategist, Francisco Argüello, made a quick reading and decided to take a risk 10 minutes from the end with the entry of two midfielders to close the match.
The risky maneuver put the Celeste fans on edge, as the Reds turned towards Cousillas' goal, although once again the lack of effectiveness and the great work of the goalkeeper sentenced the game in Aurora's favor by 1-0.
The end of the match showed both sides: the light-blue team melted in the center of the field in a single embrace. The reds left chewing on their anger and with the sadness of not getting another good result.
As the Aurora players were leaving for the dressing room, a group of misfits stationed at the south end of the pitch threw firecrackers at the players.
Before the break for the qualifiers for the World Cup Qatar 2022, both teams will have time to adjust details. At the moment, both are out of the qualification zone for the second phase of the Apertura 2022.
