Liga BetPlay II round 14: Nacional beat Pasto 3–0 and Santa Fe beat Bucaramanga in the last minute

Round 14 was played in two parts: eight matches between 8 and 11 October and two postponed ones, on Thursday 22 and Monday 26 October. In the postponed matches, Atlético Nacional beat Deportivo Pasto 3–0 with a goal by Edwin Cardona from his own half, and Santa Fe beat Atlético Bucaramanga 2–1 on 90+3, a man up from the start of the second half. Earlier in the month, Independiente Medellín had won 2–1 in Cali against América de Cali, who played the second half with ten men. The round brought 26 goals in ten matches (four home wins, two away wins and four draws) and six red cards.

Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October

Fortaleza 1–1 Millonarios was settled in the last minutes at the Metropolitano de Techo. R. Ureña put Millonarios ahead on 88 from S. Mosquera's pass, in the same minute that Francisco Chaverra was sent off for abusive language, and I. Montaño equalised for Fortaleza on 90 from J. Sinisterra's pass. Fortaleza had 56 per cent of the ball and 17 shots, three on target.

Alianza Valledupar 2–2 Águilas Doradas turned in stoppage time. I. Rojas, from A. Ricaurte's pass, put Águilas Doradas ahead on 21 and A. Vásquez, from R. Márquez's, made it 0–2 on 45. On 90, M. Martínez, from J. E. Pérez Balcázar's pass, and J. Figueroa, from a penalty confirmed by the VAR, equalised for Alianza Valledupar; Misael Martínez was sent off on 90+4. Alianza had 20 shots, six on target.

Once Caldas 1–0 Llaneros was decided in three minutes. Carlos Cortés missed a penalty for Llaneros on 65 and J. Cardona, from D. Londoño's pass, scored for Once Caldas on 68. Jhon Vásquez of Llaneros was sent off on 75, and the VAR overturned a penalty for Once Caldas on 80.

Saturday 10 October

Deportivo Pereira 0–0 Deportivo Cali: in Yopal, Deportivo Cali were down to ten on 35, when the VAR upgraded Léyser Chaverra's card to a red for violent conduct. The two sides managed three shots on target between them.

Junior 2–2 Internacional de Bogotá was played in Barranquilla. C. Dajome put Internacional de Bogotá ahead on 19 and J. Rivas equalised for Junior on 25. F. Fydriszewski, from G. Paiva's pass, made it 2–1 on 71, and F. Sanguinetti, from F. Bone's, 2–2 on 74. Junior had 19 shots and Internacional 18, four on target each.

Sunday 11 October

Jaguares 3–2 Deportes Tolima: in Montería, L. Jiménez, from R. Bustamante's pass, put Jaguares ahead on 41, and J. Beltrán, again from Bustamante's pass, made it 2–0 on 67. A. Parra Osorio levelled with two goals for Deportes Tolima, on 77 from L. Sandoval's pass and on 88 from E. Valencia's, but D. López won it on 90. Tolima had 61 per cent of the ball and eight corners; Jaguares had none.

Chicó 0–1 Cúcuta: D. Pérez scored on 70 in Tunja, from J. Peralta's pass. Chicó had 65 per cent of the ball, 15 shots and 11 corners, but put only one shot on target; Cúcuta put four.

América de Cali 1–2 Independiente Medellín: L. Quiñones put América ahead on 7 from Y. Guzmán's pass, and L. Escorcia equalised for Medellín on 24 from D. Cataño's. Dany Rosero of América was sent off on 45+2, and the VAR overturned a penalty for the home side on 52. C. Lucumí, from F. Fabra's pass, made it 1–2 on 84. It is Medellín's second win over América in 2026: they also won 2–1 in March.

The postponed matches: Thursday 22 and Monday 26 October

Atlético Nacional 3–0 Deportivo Pasto: E. Cardona opened the scoring on 13 from J. Zapata's pass. According to El Tiempo, he shot from his own half with the goalkeeper Giovanni Banguera off his line. R. Escorcia made it 2–0 on 52 and J. Rengifo, from N. Rodríguez's pass, 3–0 on 90. Nacional had 19 shots, seven on target; Pasto had five, none on target. El Tiempo lists James Rodríguez and Alfredo Morelos as notable absences. Nacional are unbeaten against Pasto in their last eight meetings: seven wins and a draw.

Santa Fe 2–1 Bucaramanga was played at El Campín. F. Fagúndez put Santa Fe ahead on 31; according to El Tiempo, he took the rebound from a Jader Obrian shot that hit the post. C. Romaña was sent off on 47: El Tiempo says he brought down Hugo Rodallega as he headed for goal, and calls it a controversial sending-off. With ten men, Bucaramanga equalised on 80 through L. Pons from E. Batalla's pass, but Palacios, from Fagúndez's pass, won it on 90+3. Bucaramanga, who had lost their unbeaten record on the Friday at Chicó, have lost two in a row; Santa Fe have won both meetings with them in 2026. According to El Tiempo, Santa Fe, on 28 points, are not yet mathematically through, but are well on their way to securing a place.

The table

Points and, in brackets, matches played, counting every match played up to Monday, including rounds 15 and 16 and Internacional v Once Caldas from round 17. The top eight go to the cuadrangulares; the bar marks the cut.

Atlético Nacional 32 (15); América de Cali 31 (15); Deportivo Cali 30 (16); Santa Fe 28 (15); Millonarios 26 (16); Bucaramanga 25 (15); Independiente Medellín 23 (15); Once Caldas 21 (16) | Cúcuta 21 (15); Deportes Tolima 20 (16); Águilas Doradas 19 (15); Alianza Valledupar 18 (15); Internacional de Bogotá 17 (16); Llaneros 17 (16); Junior 15 (15); Chicó 15 (15); Deportivo Pereira 14 (15); Jaguares 13 (15); Fortaleza 12 (15); Deportivo Pasto 12 (15).

Nacional lead América by a point and Cali by two, though Cali have played a game more. Once Caldas and Cúcuta are level on 21 at the cut, and Once Caldas are in on goal difference. The race, counted round by round rather than by the day each match was played, shows that after round 14 Nacional had 29 points, Cali 28, América 27 and Santa Fe 25.

Numbers to know

• 26 goals in ten matches: four home wins, two away wins and four draws.
• Six red cards: Francisco Chaverra, Misael Martínez, Jhon Vásquez, Léyser Chaverra, Dany Rosero and C. Romaña.
• Six goals in the 90th minute or in stoppage time, in five matches.
• Deportivo Pasto had no shots on target at the Atanasio Girardot; Nacional had seven.
• A. Estupiñán (Millonarios) and Y. Guzmán (América) share top spot in the scorers' list with 19.

Next up

The postponed round 5 is being played this week: it starts on Tuesday 27 with Cúcuta v Águilas Doradas (18:00 Colombia time) and Chicó v Junior (20:05 Colombia time), and on Thursday 29 Atlético Nacional host Santa Fe (20:30 Colombia time). Round 17, in which Internacional v Once Caldas was played in October, continues on Saturday 31 with Llaneros v Junior (18:00 Colombia time); on Monday 2 November Bucaramanga host Nacional (20:15 Colombia time) and on Tuesday 3 Millonarios play América de Cali (20:10 Colombia time). The table and the kick-off times are on the Liga BetPlay page.

Sources for the context: El Tiempo, El Tiempo.