Latin American Roundup

Deportivo, Racing, Bolivar win in Libertadores

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) -- Deportivo Cali striker Carlos Castillo scored two goals Tuesday as the Colombians extended their commanding lead of Group 1 of the Copa Libertadores with a resounding 4-0 defeat of Ecuador's Emelec.

In other Libertadores matches, Argentina's Racing wins 2-1 over Nacional of Uruguay and Bolivia's Bolivar beat Uruguay's Penarol 5-2. The Cali offense dominated play from the start of the match and striker Castillo scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute with a header.

Cali's Hernandez added the team's second goal in the 48th minute with a penalty kick. Castillo again scored in the 62nd minute, tapping the ball past a charging Viteri.

Patino sealed the match with a powerful, arcing shot in 69th minute.

Emelec coach Motta tried to revive his sinking squad with numerous substitutions, but Cali's tight defense ground them down quickly.

The victory places Deportivo Cali atop Group 1 with 6 points, followed by Paraguay's Libertad and Emelec, with 1 point each and Argentina's River Plate, with 0.

Deportivo Cali next faces Libertad at home on March 11. Emelec next meets River Plate on March 13 in Guayaquil.

After a listless and sloppy first period at Montevideo's Centenario stadium, Luis Rueda scored in the 59th minute off a powerful cross to give Racing the lead over Nacional.

Backed by a roaring hometown crowd of 20,000 spectators, Nacional evened the score in the 66th minute on a shot from Horacio Peralta.

Racing's Chilean standout Milovan Mirosevic sealed the win when found the back of the net in the 66th minute only minutes after entering the game.

With Tuesday's victory, Racing has four points to lead Group 6, followed by Universitario de Peru with 1 point and Nacional and Bolivia's Oriente Petrolero both with 0.

Group 6 play will next see Racing and Nacional clash April 9 in Buenos Aires.

Joaquin Botero scored two first-half goals in Bolivar's win over Penarol at La Paz, Bolivia.

Showing why he was voted last year's best striker, Botero scored in the eighth minute on a header and again in the 39th, as Bolivar used La Paz's 3,640-meter (nearly 12,000-foot) altitude to exhaust Penarol's players and head into halftime with a 3-2 lead.

Before losing steam, Penarol came out strong with Nicolas Rotundo scoring in the 18th minute, and Carlos Bueno in the 20th.

But Penarol was unable to find its second wind after halftime. After scoring an own-goal, Penarol left Antonio Sandy wide open for an 82nd-minute header.

Bolivar ran circles around the Uruguayan squad, and the effects of the altitude left them fatigued.

Bolivar, tied with Mexico's Pumas on four points in Group 5, heads to Brazil to play group leader Gremio on March 13.

With the loss against Bolivar, Penarol drops to last in the group and hosts Pumas on March 11.

Ecuador's referees call off strike

QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) -- Ecuador's referees called off a strike, which had delayed the start of the season last weekend, on Tuesday.

The referees, who had been demanding a 40 percent increase on their match fees of $200, agreed instead to a 15 percent increase and a pledge from the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) to pay taxes on their behalf.

"We've reached an agreement with the referees and the championship will start on Friday," said Patricio Viteri, president of the FEF's refereeing commission.

Viteri, who said the agreement would cost the federation $320,000 year, also dropped the threat to suspend referees who refused to officiate matches at the weekend.

South American football, which is in a severe financial crisis, was last year hit by a series of strikes and go-slows by players, protesting mainly at unpaid wages.

 

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Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.