Villafraz carries Tachira in Copa Libertadores

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Deportivo Tachira of Venezuela secured a 1-0 victory over Deportivo Cuenca of Ecuador to be in the mix for qualification from Copa Libertadores Group 2 on Wednesday.

Midfielder Jose Javier Villafraz scored after 67 minutes in front of 27,000 at Pueblo Nuevo Stadium in San Cristobal, about 700 kilometers southeast of Caracas.

The result pushed Tachira level in the standings with Boca Juniors, though the Argentine club stayed in the top spot with a better goal difference and having played a game less. Cuenca has taken only three points from a possible nine.

Boca will be back in action on March 18 with a visit to basement club Guarani. The Paraguayan club has no points from two games.

Tachira dominated territory and possession from the start, but the wayward shooting of Argentine Nahuel Fioretto and striker Daniel Arismendi, together with a number of key interventions from goalkeeper Carlos Moran and defender Javier Chila, kept the scoreline blank.

Tachira played with 10 men from the 39th after defender Julio Cesar Machado was shown a second yellow card.

Goalkeeper Moran made a save but Machado was lurking on the right post and seemed to push the ball into the net with his hand. The goal was ruled out by the linesman and Machado was sent off.

Cuenca defender Juan Guerron was also shown the red card after 63 minutes.

Colombian referee Albert Duarte was in a strict mood and showed a flurry of yellow cards for apparently innocuous challenges.

Cuenca players Moran, Norberto Orrego, Giancarlo Ramos and Holger Matamoros were booked, while Tachira's Lucas Bovaglio and Javier Villafraz were also shown yellow cards.

Gremio beats Boyaca Chico 1-0, shares Group 7 lead

TUNJA, Colombia (AP) -- Midfielder Souza scored the lone goal of the match to give Brazilian team Gremio a 1-0 away victory over Boyaca Chico on Wednesday and a share of the Group 7 lead in the of Copa Libertadores.

Souza beat Colombian goalkeeper Edigson Velasquez with a low free kick after 31 minutes. Velasquez had produced a fine performance to keep the Brazilians from opening the scoring earlier and continued to frustrate the visitors with a man-of-the-match display.

Colombian Juan Mahecha was sent off in the 76th minute for diving on the edge of the Gremio box.

Gremio shares the Group 7 lead with Universidad de Chile on four points. Chico trails on three points, with Bolivian club Aurora bottom of the group with zero.

Chica will host Universidad de Chile on March 18, while Gremio travel to Bolivia to play Aurora the following week.

The Brazilian club, Liberatores winner in 1983 and 1995, tried to have the game switched from the high altitude of Chico's home ground at Tunja, 2,782 meters above sea level, but failed to convince tournament organizers. Gremio also expressed concerns about security in Colombia.

Everton, Lanus draw 1-1 in Group 6

VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AP) -- Everton of Chile and Lanus of Argentina finished 1-1 in Group 6 of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.

Lanus took the lead with a goal from Diego Gonzalez in the dying seconds of the first half, but Everton replied with a penalty by Argentine striker Ezequiel Miralles eight minutes after the restart.

The result moved Everton to second place in the group on four points, level with Mexican club Chivas. Lanus, with two losses and a draw, has a lot of work to do in the last three matches to claim a place in the last 16.

Veteran midfielder Jaime Riveros was at the heart of Everton's best moves, testing the Lanus backline with a series of probing passes.

The stop-start match took a long time to heat up with a series of niggling fouls interrupting the flow.

In the 38th minute, a lofted ball over the defense from Riveros gave Fernando Manriquez on the wing the chance to sneak behind his full back, but he shanked his shot from a tight angle.

Lanus took the lead after a minute of first-half stoppage time. Gonzalez thighed home after Santiago Hoyos headed a Nicolas Ramirez corner back across goal.

A determined start to the second period by Everton led to an equalizer in the 54th.

Defender Rodrigo Ramirez played a one-two with Miralles to storm into the box and lay off to Roberto Gutierrez. The forward tried to cut inside Bossio but tripped over the goalkeeper's arm. The referee awarded a penalty and Miralles made no mistake from the spot.

The game finally came alive in the last 10 minutes. Lanus goalscorer Jose Sand escaped the shackles in the 82nd as Everton's offside trap disintegrated, but his finish was diverted for a corner by goalkeeper Nicolas Peric.

Everton then hit the bar with a header before two glorious opportunities to snatch the three points in injury time.

Lanus midfielder Diego Valeri cleared off the line following a corner two minutes in, and seconds later Miralles was sent clean through to round Bossio, but scuffed his shot with the goal yawning.

Everton travels to Lanus for the return fixture next Tuesday.