Guarani and Orense competed for first place in the group after two matchdays, after both teams managed to win their first match against respectively Newell’s Old Boys and Universidad de Concepcion. The Paraguayan set up in a 4-3-3 and played with high-positioned full-backs and a defensive midfielder who dropped deep between the two central defenders. Orense made a few mistakes early on in the game which led to a few big chances for Guarani, but they could not find the back of the net. Orense started to get better in the game and after a good assist by Ariel Suarez, Dany Coronel managed to score his first goal of the tournament to get Orense the win.
Youth Ratings
1 – Ready for the first team
2 – Good, potential to be first team
3 – Decent, could make first team squad
4 – Decent potential, unlikely to make it to first team
5 – Unlikely to make first team
Erick Pluas
Player profile:
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 20/03/2002
- Club: Orense SC
- Career: Orense SC, Palmeiras, Orense SC
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
Erick Pluas played as Orense’s left central midfielder against Guarani. The central midfielder stands at 175cm and has a slim build. He is quite a lightweight. The Ecuadorian midfielder was really press-resistant and was capable of turning away quickly from his opponent when being put under pressure. He, apart from one situation, always remained calm under pressure. He has good close control and showed great ball coordination when dribbling. Pluas had quick decision-making and sometimes played some good one-touch passes. His long passing technique looked really good too, but his accuracy was inconsistent. Sometimes he would hit the ball with too much power or his pass would not go in the right direction.
The Ecuadorian is quite agile and this helps him when being put under pressure. He played some good passes into the attack and generally helped Orense to progress the ball further up the pitch. Defensively, Pluas once again looked disciplined and showed good concentration to not make any big mistakes in defence. He covered runs into the box from his opponents very well and intercepted a cross, preventing his opponent from having a clear cut chance. The Ecuadorian always cuts passing lanes well and does well to scan often. He also used his body well to block his opponent when he tried to dribble past, without giving away fouls.
Rating – 1
Erick Pluas is a midfielder with good potential. He shows talent in the technical and tactical aspect, has decent athletic ability and even though he is a lightweight, he stands his ground in physical duels. It is a player that could be interesting for MLS clubs in the future.
Ariel Suarez
Player profile:
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 09/02/2004
- Club: Orense SC
- Career: Orense SC
- Position: Left Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Ariel Suarez played as a left-winger for Orense in the match against Guarani, leading the team to their second consecutive win by assisting Dany Coronel’s goal. Standing at ~177cm with a slim build, Suarez had good agility and changes of direction, being capable of cutting inside before going on the outside quite quickly. He had good bursts of speed to get away from his marker in the 1v1 duel and showed good changes of pace. His dribbling ability was good at times but still a bit inconsistent, sometimes looking sloppy and occasionally making the wrong decision too. For example, in one situation he lost control over the ball when he was looking over the ball. In another situation, he dribbled into a crowded area while his teammate was in space.
Ariel Suarez’s technical ability looked good. He had a good first touch when dealing with aerial passes, had a good passing technique and his outside of the boot cross to Dany Coronel for the 0-1 was excellent. Tactically, Suarez possessed really good off the ball movement, finding space in the box by making good runs but also between the lines in the final third. He did well to sneak away from his opponent and when he received the ball in this area he immediately turned and faced towards the goal. His shot locations were quite questionable at times, shooting from long range but not possessing great shooting power to make an impact from that far out.
Rating – 2
I think that Suarez has the potential to become a special player for Ecuador in the future. He has an interesting profile and is already showing a good level. I think he could have an impact in the first team already, together with Erick Pluas and maybe even Tommy Chamba.
Bryan Quiñonez and Tommy Chamba
Bryan Quiñonez showed bad awareness on the ball, losing the ball on his own half which nearly led to the opening goal of Guarani. He was inconsistent with his passing into the midfield. He was too late in some ground duels, but showed decent acceleration on the ball and closed gaps towards the wing well. The Ecuadorian also showed good recovery speed and has good physical ability. He’s still on a 3 rating for me.
Tommy Chamba had a quiet match, but looked really good in the technical area once again. As for Segovia, his physical appearance does not help him, but he draws fouls quite well and has a very good kicking technique in the free-kicks that follow. He gets a 2 rating.