Winners & losers

Well, we tried, but the contest was settled when we lost two important players. El Chivo Suárez collapsed a few seconds after the kickoff. He received treatment and hobbled up and down the field but had to be subbed out before halftime. Worse, between the minutes 5 and 10, two yellow cards accrued to Álex Bolaños. … Emelec pressed hard; got a first-half goal; waited for us to tire out; and, near the end, put in two more goals. So it was easy for them, but anyway they were the better team.

The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, celebrated with Emelec at the Parrilla del Ñato.

Antonio Noboa, our team president, tweeted out some venom against Bolaños.

I viewed the match at Sabby’s house. The male Sabby loyally sat next to me and played a bridge-building game on his new smartphone. Sadly, his bridges kept on collapsing, and his ponies kept on falling into the gorge.