The Halcón de Varela could not overturn the 0-3 deficit from the first leg in Ecuador, yet the team finished a remarkable campaign by saying goodbye with their heads held high. Defense and Justice carried themselves with minimal fault, and perhaps the only blemish lay in the Quito finale where a late discount failed to materialize and Ezequiel Piovi delivered the decisive goal, turning the initial 0-3 into an almost insurmountable mountain for Lanús. Liga de Quito, meanwhile, returns to an international final after more than a decade, proving that discipline and consistency can still carry a squad through the most demanding contests.
With no time to waste, Halcón turned their attention to scoring the goal that would keep the tie alive and came very close through Togni, who sparked high hopes in the stands even as a swift counterattack from the opponents flashed by and did not end the story as early as the first half.
In the second half Defensa burned through their reserves, but found it hard to breach Alexander Domínguez twice and could only test the goalkeeper with several long-range attempts that did not conjure a clear breakthrough. The closing minutes were met with a standing ovation for Julio Vaccari’s modest squad, a group that did not count all of its usual leaders on the field yet forged a campaign of international significance that earned respect across the continent.