When he needed it most, he got his scorer back.
With a brace from Patricio Rubio, Ñublense staged a feline comeback against O’Higgins to win 2-1 in Rancagua, ending a winless streak that had lasted since May 9 and moving away from relegation hell.
Not only “Pato”, who started as a starter and went from less to more, was key to the victory.
Goalkeeper Nicola Pérez confirmed his great moment when he saved the penalty served by Pedro Pablo Hernández at 11′, after referee Claudio Díaz relied on VAR to collect a handball from Lucas Abascia.
However, the variants that Jaime García decided from the start to dose his worn-out squad, failed to make a difference in the collective game and it was always O’Higgins who was deeper. For this reason, at 39′ he opened the scoring thanks to the goal of the Argentine Brian Blando, just before going to rest.
woke up blond duck
García moved the board to try a reaction, sending Lorenzo Reyes, Juan Leiva and Bayron Oyarzo onto the field, variants that had an effect, because the team regained possession of the ball with offensive pressure to take advantage of Patricio Rubio’s scoring nose.
At 76′ the experienced attacker received a ball from Bernardo Cerezo and after a solo run he defined with a cross shot against Ignacio González, to score the temporary tie.
Meanwhile, at 86′ he showed all his coldness to accurately execute a penalty after a handball from Antonio Díaz (checked by VAR) and seal a feline comeback.
With the 2-1 in their favor, the Red populated their sector to defend with all the advantage until the final whistle of judge Claudio Díaz.
In this way, Ñublense climbed to eleventh place with 23 points, preparing to play with the Liga de Quito on August 3 in Concepción and then hosting Cobresal, leader of the tournament, at home.
O’Higgins, meanwhile, reached his fourth loss in a row, a result that also triggered the departure of coach Pablo de Muner, and he stayed in 13th place with 20 points. On the following date, those from Rancagua will have to face the University of Chile.
The coach Jaime García valued the victory and highlighted the dedication of all the players who entered the playing field in El Teniente de Rancagua state.
“The team showed a lot of grit, had spirit and showed the seal. I had to dose because I know how the squad needs it and now we want to continue climbing the table, but when we played Ñublense style, we improved a lot”, declared the coach who now dreams of another international triumph.
