Independiente reaches Copa Sudamericana final

By foxsports
Published

Argentine club Independiente defeated Liga de Quito 2-1 on Thursday to reach the final of the Copa Sudamericana.

Independiente will face Brazilian club Goias in the final of South America's No. 2 club competition.

Liga de Quito, the defending Copa Sudamericana champion, won the first leg at home last week 3-2, but Independiente advanced by scoring more away goals.

Facundo Parra gave Independiente a 1-0 lead in the 26th with Juan Manuel Salgueiro's equalizing late in the half. Hernan Fredes scored the winner in the 46th for the Argentines.

''We played against a tough team,'' Parra said. ''They made us work every second. But we worked hard and showed lots of grit.''

The two-leg final will feature two major underdogs.

Goias, which will drop down to the second division of Brazil football next season, advanced to the final Wednesday with a 2-1 victory over fellow Brazil club Palmeiras. Palmeiras won the first-leg semifinal 1-0 at Goias a week ago, but Goias also progressed by virtue of scoring twice in Sao Paulo.

Independiente has struggled all season in the Argentina Aperutra tournament and has only 13 points in 15 games, far behind leaders Estudiantes with 33.