Deportes Copiapó played host to Magallanes in the twenty-fifth round of Primera B on Wednesday evening, and the match ended 1-1. The result leaves both sides where they stood before, though the table tells a different story about their season so far. We had tipped the home side for victory at 41 per cent confidence, but the game took another path entirely — Magallanes simply refused to fold when pressed.
M. Fredes gave Copiapó the lead in the fifteenth minute, and for the first quarter of the match the home side looked the more dangerous outfit. Magallanes responded with three changes at the break — I. Fuenzalida, B. Liuzzi and E. Fernandez all came on together. By then the visitors had already out-attacked their hosts, and the shift in personnel seemed to open something up.
Magallanes levelled through M. Lopez in the seventy-second minute. Before that they had pushed forward relentlessly, recording 94 attacks against 74 for the hosts, and their six shots on target versus three told you where the danger lay. Copiapó were not without their moments, but they found no answer when Magallanes went for the jugular in the second half.
The statistics show a game of two halves, or at least two phases. Possession sat at 52 per cent for the hosts and 48 for the visitors, but the numbers mask who created more. Magallanes won six corners to one, and their seven shots off target alongside six on target suggest they were always looking for an opening. Copiapó worked the ball but could not convert the pressure into a decisive blow.
Both teams picked up bookings along the way. M. Osorio and M. Sepulveda were shown yellow cards in the first half, and another player received a caution in stoppage time. The substitutions came in waves — Magallanes made three at once, then F. Espoz joined them in the fifty-fifth minute, while Copiapó brought on M. Osorio and M. Sepulveda together in the sixty-ninth.
Magallanes sit sixth with 37 points from 24 games, eight ahead of Copiapó who remain eleventh with 31. The draw extends a run of one win, one draw and one loss for the visitors over their last three fixtures, while the hosts have won just one of their past five league matches. The result keeps the gap steady, and neither side gains ground on the other.
