Buenos Aires, Feb 7 (IANS) Talleres Cordoba defeated Sao Paulo 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores second round match at the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium.
In their first appearance in South America’s premier tournament in 17 years, the Argentine club from Cordoba prevailed thanks to second half goals from Juan Ramirez and Tomas Pochettino on Wednesday’s match, reports Efe news.
Sao Paulo, which has won the Copa Libertadores tournament three times, will have to win by three clear goals in the second leg, which will be held on February 13, if they are to advance to the third round.
The winner of the tie will play either Chile’s Palestino or Colombia’s Independiente Medellin for a place in Group A, which has Argentina’s River Plate, Brazil’s Internacional and Peru’s Alianza Lima.
The match was evenly poised during the first half, with the home team having better possession.
Both teams managed a pair of efforts on goal, but failed to break the deadlock.
In the 57th minute, up stepped Juan Ramirez, who hit a fierce shot the flew into the top right corner that left goalkeeper Tiago Volpi with no chance to open the scoring.
The visiting Brazilians tried to fight back to salvage a draw the match with Diego Souza leading the attack, but Hudson’s sending off in the 81st minute made it even more difficult for the visitors to level.
Talleres then extended their lead in the 87th minute after a great team move which ended with a low drive from the edge of the box by Tomas Pochettino.
The Cordobans, who are struggling in 12th place in the league on 22 points, 20 behind leader Racing Club, will focus their attention on the Copa Libertadores as their only likely chance of winning silverware this season.
The only other time Talleres took part in Copa Libertadores was in 2002, when they were eliminated in the group stage.
Sao Paulo, who came to competition as Group D leaders of the Campeonato Paulista, will have to fight back in the game at home to remain alive in the tournament.
–IANS
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