Neither “effort”, “sacrifice” or “great work”, which according to coach Hernán Torres were three of the several virtues that Emelec showed on Monday against Liga de Quito, did not prevent the electric team from leaving without points in their pockets. to visit the Rodrigo Paz Stadium.

With a 1-0 win, the Albanians condemned the Electricians to say goodbye to the 2023 tournament without a win in the capital. The millionaires failed to defeat the Pichincha Non-Amateur Football Association team, which also confirmed that huge and unprecedented hegemony over the blues at the George Capwell Stadium in Guayaquil.

“Playing at altitude complicates things,” said Torres, who told a press conference that he didn’t intend to make excuses, but he did: “The change in weather complicates things, even more so at altitude and at noon,” he said. The Colombian coach surely doesn’t know that in 1968 Quito was 2,850 meters above sea level, like on Monday against Liga. That year, Emelec became the first club in Ecuador to advance to the second round of the Copa Libertadores by defeating El Nacional, Olimpico Atahualpa, 1–0.

Torres “no excuses”

Although “playing at altitude is complicated”, Emelec was crowned Ecuadorian champion for the fifth time in Quito, 1988. He also secured the prize there in 1994 and returned to the Olympics as a triple champion in 2015. However, this season has been marked by negative records for the millionaires relegation to the League represents the implementation of the second: it will be a winless campaign in the capital (in the rest of the second phase, Emelec will no longer play in Quito).

In addition to failing to beat the AFNA teams when they hosted them, the Astillero club has so far in 2023 failed to defeat the rest of the teams playing in the highland cities.

In six matches against Pichinchanos (Liga, Aucas, Universidad Católica, Independiente del Valle, El Nacional and Cumbayá), in these scenarios they lost four (against Azucenas, Orientales, Camaratas and Rayados) and drew two (with military and with weak and inexperienced Cumbaya, who received the blues in Latacunga). Out of 18 contested points, only a few were deducted from them.

Malfunction at altitude

But the fiasco at the top of Emelec – previously terrifying in any field in the country – is not limited to Quito. In other scenarios, Sierra did not win away from home in 2023 (0-0 with Mushuc Runa, Gualace, Libertad and Técnico Universitario and a 3-2 loss against Deportivo Cuenca). In the penultimate term of the second phase, they will visit Gualace, which is fighting for relegation to Serie B.

And although it still has to host Católica, regardless of the result of that match on the following date, even if Emelec wins, the ‘paternity’ of the AFNA teams over the electric teams this year, whether home or away, is out of the question. . The statistics that make up the sad record are as follows:

1. Aucas 2, Emelec 1

Emelec 0, Aucas 0

2. Cumbayá 0, Emelec 0

Emelec 3, Cumbayá 0

3. Catholic University 3, Emelec 2

The second stage is waiting.

4. Emelec 1, El Nacional 2

El Nacional 1, Emelec 1

5. Emelec 2, Independiente del Valle 3

Independiente del Valle 2, Emelec 1

6. Emelec 1, Quito Liga 1

Quito Liga 1, Emelec 0

From eleven matches played in 2023 against AFNA opponents, in Guayaquil and Quito, Emelec has six losses, four draws and one win. Out of 33 units, he scored only seven (including three against Cumbayá, in Capwell).

And to confirm the disaster that Emelec’s season was, they also couldn’t beat rivals from other cities on the coast (with Orense they lost 2-1 in Machala and drew 0-0 in Capwell). In Manta, Delfín beat them 3-2, and in Guayaquil they beat them again 1-0. (D)