Fortaleza and Tolima Share Points in Late Drama
Fortaleza played out a 2:2 draw with Deportes Tolima in the Clausura round 12 at the Estádio Metropolitano de Teho on September 27th. The match was decided in the final moments, with Sebastian Navarro scoring in the 90+6th minute to rescue a point for the home side after Teun Wilke had been sent off for the visitors two minutes earlier.
Yesid Díaz gave the away side a shock lead with an own goal in the 30th minute, but Juan Sebastian Herrera equalised for Fortaleza in the 51st minute. Jorge Hurtado then put the hosts ahead with a goal in the 73rd minute, and it looked as though the three points were slipping away from Tolima until Navarro's late strike.
And here's the thing about the statistics — Fortaleza had 57 per cent possession, 12 shots with six on target, and an expected goals figure of 0.67. Tolima managed just seven shots with only one on target, and their expected goals was 0.26. The hosts created more chances but couldn't convert them into goals until it mattered.
To be fair, the visitors had been on a difficult run. They lost 1-0 to América de Cali, then 0-1 to Once Caldas, and 0-1 to Santa Fe in the weeks leading up to this fixture. Fortaleza had shown more resilience, drawing with Jaguares and Santa Fe before a heavy 4-1 defeat to Junior.
By then the table told its own story. Fortaleza sat 15th with 22 points from 19 games, while Tolima occupied 6th place with 31 points. The draw extended Fortaleza's unbeaten run to two matches, though it did little to close the gap on the teams above them.
We had backed the home side for victory with 40 per cent confidence before kickoff. The match went another way, and quite frankly, the late drama — a red card, a missed opportunity to seal the game, and a last-gasp equaliser — was enough to change the outcome.
