Independiente del Valle beat Gualaceo 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Ecuador Cup on Thursday. The hosts controlled their side of the tie with a comfortable victory, though the statistics suggested Gualaceo had their moments. By then, the away side had already been tested enough to understand what was required.
D. Reasco opened the scoring in the thirty-first minute, a goal that settled the nerves and gave the home side breathing room. Gualaceo pushed back, but the visitors never really got going in the first half. E. Pata picked up a yellow card just before the break, a sign of the physical nature of the encounter. To be fair, both sides were cautious, and the tempo never really quickened.
After the restart, the game opened up slightly. M. Perello doubled the lead in the sixty-eighth minute, and the hosts were in control of the tie from that point. A penalty was missed in the seventy-sixth minute — a chance to go two clear that slipped away. The hosts came for a cross he never reached, and the moment passed without consequence. By then, Gualaceo had been frozen out of the game.
Both teams finished with two yellow cards each, though the hosts registered three in total including the unnamed booking in the forty-ninth minute. The away side had twenty-three throw-ins to ten, suggesting they spent more time in the final third than their scoreline reflected. The hosts were out of sight by the closing stages, and the visitors saw it out with dignity.
Independiente del Valle dominated possession and created more chances, with eight shots on target compared to four for Gualaceo. The away side had eight attacks in the box but failed to convert, while the hosts punished them from a corner opportunity. The statistics tell a simple story: many shots with one goal means chances went begging, and that was the pattern throughout.
The victory moves the hosts into the semi-finals, where they will face the winner of the other quarter-final. They have not won since their draw with Flamengo last week, and this result picks up a point they needed. The high line was picked apart on occasion, but the defence held firm when it mattered most.
