The only active league in the Western Hemisphere has entered its playoff phase, as two preliminary stage games were played on Wednesday evening.
In Nicaragua, six teams qualify for the post-season. Those ranked from third to sixth spot face each other, as the top two wait for the winners in the next stage.
Diriangén (3rd place) vs Juventus Managua (6th place)
Diriangén’s poor away form in the end of the regular season contributed to their disappointing third place finish - as they seemed to be early front-runners for a bye. However, their fantastic home was capitalized upon for a narrow win of 1-0 - repeating the scoreline from the two’s previous meeting in Diriamba, back in February.
Uruguayan Bernardo Laureiro, who scored in that game, did it once again: In the 63rd minute, he smashed the ball into the net from close range to decide the tie. Lauriero rose to fame earlier this month as he was one of the leaders in the team’s protest against President Daniel Ortega’s decision to keep the league running normally.
The Black and White’s rival in the semi-final will be Real Estelí. For Juventus, this signals yet another disappointing end to campaign: For the third tournament in a row, they are eliminated in the preliminary playoff stage.
Walter Ferretti (4th place) - Municipal Jalapa (5th place)
The second match of the night was much more entertaining. What has started as a solid performance by Walter Ferretti’s players, ended in a goleada that Jalapa would want to forget.
Dshon Forbes scored a hattrick, Bryan Garcia and Leandro Figueroa added one each, while Luis Galeano’s goal for Jalapa couldn’t stop the avalanche, as Ferretti hammered the visitors 5-1 - proceeding to the next stage in style.