Nacional edge past Sao Paulo into final

Atletico Nacional have reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana by beating Brazilian giants Sao Paulo 4-1 on penalties after the teams could not be separated over two legs on Wednesday.

Holding a slender 1-0 lead from the semi-final first-leg, Nacional were beaten by the same score line on the night following an extraordinary free-kick by Paulo Henrique Ganso.

 Sao Paulo twice hit the post in the closing stages while at the other end goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni saved from Jonathan Copete as both sides failed to find what would have been a decisive goal.

The match went to a penalty shoot-out, where the Colombian side sealed victory after Sao Paulo duo Alan Kardec and Rafael Toloi missed their spot kicks. Kardec slipped and shot high before Nacional goalkeeper Franco Armani saved Toloi’s effort.

Armani said: “This is a dream come true. We worked and fought a lot to be in this final. We knew Sao Paulo were going to attack us a lot as they needed to score goals, but we finally qualified.”

Nacional will play the winners of the Argentinian derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors, who meet on Thursday with the second leg finely poised after a goalless draw a week ago.

“The first leg in Colombia will be very important. We must get a positive result,” added Armani ahead of the two-leg final against either of the Argentinian teams,according to FIFA.com.

M.D