Deportes Recoleta came from behind to secure a crucial 2-1 victory over CD Copiapó S.A. in the Chilean Liga de Ascenso on Saturday evening, with a late winner at the Estadio Municipal de Recoleta lifting the home side up the table and breathing fresh life into their promotion push.

The match, played under the lights on 23 August 2026, began in cagey fashion as both teams looked to establish control in midfield. Deportes Recoleta, buoyed by their home crowd, pressed high from the first whistle and were rewarded for their intensity midway through the first half. A neat interchange down the right flank unlocked the Copiapó defence, and the resulting finish was clinical enough to give Recoleta a deserved lead before the break.

Match overview

Copiapó, however, are not a side that drifts quietly through a contest. The visitors emerged from the interval with renewed aggression, moving the ball quicker and pinning Recoleta inside their own half. Their equaliser arrived shortly after the hour mark when a well-worked set piece caused chaos in the Recoleta box, and a scrappy finish from close range levelled the scores.

Just when the game looked destined to end all square, Recoleta found a late spark. The home side pushed forward in search of a winning goal and found it with minutes remaining, capitalising on a defensive lapse to fire home and send the local supporters into raptures.

Key moments and tactical story

• Opening goal: Recoleta took a first-half lead with a sharp counter-attacking move that caught Copiapó out of shape.
• Copiapó response: The visitors levelled through a set-piece scramble, underlining their threat from dead-ball situations.
• Winning strike: A late defensive mistake from Copiapó allowed Recoleta to steal all three points.

Tactically, Recoleta’s willingness to press high and then sit deep after taking the lead created a disjointed rhythm. Copiapó controlled more of the ball over the 90 minutes, but Recoleta were more efficient in the decisive moments. The result gives Recoleta an important boost in a tightly contested league standings picture, while Copiapó will rue a missed opportunity to climb towards the promotion playoff places.

What it means

With this victory, Deportes Recoleta strengthen their case as one of the form teams in Chile’s second tier. For CD Copiapó, the defeat is a setback, but there is enough quality in their squad to suggest they will remain in the promotion hunt. The Liga de Ascenso is notoriously competitive, and results like this often prove decisive when the campaign reaches its climax.