Deportivo Cali played out a 2-2 draw with La Equidad in the Clausura sixth round on Sunday evening. The match at Deportivo Cali's stadium produced four first-half goals and a second-half strike from Facundo Bone, though the visitors held on for a share of the spoils. It was a game that swung one way and then the other, with momentum shifting between the two sides throughout.
J.C. Caldera Alvis opened the scoring in the eleventh minute before La Equidad responded with back-to-back goals from Nicolas Benedetti in the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth minutes. Diego Duarte pulled one back for the hosts just before half-time, and the first half ended with two yellow cards for La Equidad's Ronaldo Julio and Benedetti. By then, the game had already been decided in terms of intensity - both teams committed to attacking from the opening whistle. The pattern of play suggested a match that would be decided by moments rather than sustained pressure. The first half ended with the score level at two goals apiece.
Bone found space in the sixty-second minute to give La Equidad the lead, but Deportivo Cali held firm despite a flurry of substitutions in both sides' second halves. Eight changes were made across the ninety minutes, with La Equidad bringing on Ruben Manjarres and Matias Orozco alongside Benedetti in the sixtieth minute. The hosts made their changes later, with Eduardo Bello and K. Sandoval coming on for the visitors in the seventieth minute.
The hosts dominated possession at fifty-nine per cent and registered eleven shots to La Equidad's seven, though accuracy was comparable at forty-two and forty per cent respectively. Deportivo Cali created more chances inside the penalty area with nine attempts compared to five, while the visitors managed three corners against six for the hosts. The statistics tell a story of control without conversion - many shots with two goals means chances went begging for both sides.
The result leaves Deportivo Cali ninth with twenty-seven points from nineteen games, one point behind eighth-placed La Equidad who have twenty-eight. Both sides have won seven matches, but La Equidad's seven draws versus Deportivo Cali's six give them the edge in the table. It's a tight race for position at the top end of the table, and tonight's draw keeps both teams within touching distance of each other.
