Onse Kaldas hosted America de Cali in the third round of the Clausura competition on Thursday evening, and the visitors emerged with a 1-0 victory. The match, played under the lights in Manizales, finished with a single goal that proved decisive. Both sides entered the fixture level on points in the table, each sitting on 33 from 19 games.
And here's the thing about the opening exchanges — they looked cagey from the start. Yellow cards came early, Escobar for Onse Kaldas at 15 minutes and Barrios for the visitors at 24. Onse Kaldas thought they had levelled when Cuesta Santos went in at 35, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check. Then came the turning point at the break, when Zapata Ramirez was shown a red card for Onse Kaldas, leaving them with 10 men.
They tried to tighten things up after that, but the numerical disadvantage told. Rosero finally broke through at 71 minutes, and he was immediately substituted for Gomez. Onse Kaldas threw bodies in the way after that, making several changes — Alvarado at 62, Angel at 68, Roa at 70, and Quinones at 77 — but they could not find an equaliser. America de Cali held on grimly through the closing stages.
The statistics tell a story of misplaced opportunity. Onse Kaldas had 47 per cent possession and created 0.59 expected goals from 10 shots, five of which were on target. They had more attacks — 100 compared to 66 — but big chances created sat at zero for both sides. America de Cali registered 1.3 expected goals from 13 attempts, and their shots accuracy was lower at 0.29, yet they took their moment when it came.
By then, the result had shifted the table dynamics. America de Cali moved into fourth place on goal difference, while Onse Kaldas remained fifth. Both sides still carried 33 points after 19 matches, but the away win gave them the edge in the standings going forward.
