Ecuador stuns Colombia 1-0 despite being a man down due to a questionable red card
Despite Colombia’s strong home record under Lorenzo, they found themselves behind after just seven minutes thanks to Enner Valencia, who went on a mazy run before neatly finishing into the bottom corner for his fourth goal contribution in just two matches.
The hosts then missed a golden chance to equalise when Jhon Cordoba could only bundle James Rodriguez’s cross wide from a few yards out.
The striker then rounded Hernan Galindez before he was fouled by Piero Hincapie, who duly received a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Galindez pushed Rodriguez’s resulting free-kick away, shortly before Luis Diaz struck the post with a diving header as Colombia remained behind going into the second half.
Galindez was at hand to save Ecuador again just before the hour mark, palming over Jhon Arias’ close-range effort after he was sent through on goal.
Approaching the 70th-minute mark, substitute Jhon Durán tried his luck with an ambitious strike from distance, which had to be pushed away by Galindez once more. Colombia continued to probe into the latter stages, but to no avail, as Diaz could only fire over after dribbling into a promising position.
It is now four defeats in seven for Lorenzo in what is a concerning run of form that could be detrimental to Colombia’s chances of qualifying for their first World Cup finals since 2018.
Meanwhile, Sebastián Beccacece will be buzzing that his team held on for victory with a man less, ultimately keeping a national record fifth straight clean sheet in WCQs.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Hernan Galindez (Ecuador)