World Football

By Rex Gowar

BUENOS AIRES, June 22 (Reuters) - Once Caldas and Atletico Junior will meet in the two-leg Colombian Apertura championship final on Wednesday and Sunday after winning their semi-final groups.

The semi-finalists in the Chilean Apertura championship were also decided at the weekend.

COLOMBIA

Caldas won Group A with 10 points, one more than La Equidad, after a late winner by Peruvian Johan Fano gave them a 3-2 away win over 10-man Boyaca Chico.

Junior had to recover from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Deportivo Cali and pip their rivals in Group B on the basis of their higher position in the earlier phase of the championship.

Argentine Ariel Carreno put Caldas ahead and Fano scored twice including the 79th-minute winner after Chico had replied through Marco Perez and Mexican Mario Garcia, who was sent off with 20 minutes remaining.

Argentine Pablo Batalla's two first-half goals had looked like putting Cali in the final from Group B but a penalty converted by Teofilo Gutierrez and a late equaliser by Giovanni Hernandez gave Junior the draw that sent them through.

CHILE

Universidad Catolica crushed Santiago Morning 4-1 with two goals from Matias Rubio to qualify 8-1 on aggregate and meet Union Espanola, who finished top in the round-robin phase of the championship, in the semi-finals.

Everton and Universidad de Chile meet in the other semi-final.

Union played superbly to beat O'Higgins 6-1, with two goals from Argentine Gustavo Canales, for an aggregate win of 7-2 in their quarter-final.

Everton went through 4-3 on aggregate after a 2-1 home win over Municipal Iquique, who had scorer Fernando Martel and Leonardo Mas sent off in the final 11 minutes.

Universidad de Chile qualified despite losing the second leg 4-2 at home to Audax Italiano, going through 6-5 on aggregate.

The U's Uruguayan coach Sergio Markarian said he would leave the team after the championship over a lack of support from the club's board of directors.

PARAGUAY

A Jorge Britez penalty six minutes from time gave leaders Cerro Porteno a 1-0 win at 3 de Febrero that put them on the brink of the Apertura title.

With two games to go the team coached by Pedro Troglio, a World Cup finalist with Argentina in 1990, are five points ahead of Libertad, held 0-0 at home by Rubio Nu.

URUGUAY

Nacional, who have reached the Libertadores Cup semi-finals, and title holders Defensor Sporting drew 1-1 in the first leg of the league championship final at the Centenario in Montevideo.

Midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro put Nacional ahead after a one-two with Alexander Medina in the 21st minute. Uruguay international midfielder Diego De Souza equalised in the 24th with a shot from long range that went inside top right corner.

Nacional played the last half hour a man short after the dismissal of their Argentine midfielder Matias Rodriguez for a foul.

The second leg will not be played until July 5 because of elections in Uruguay next Sunday.

PERU

Alianza Lima beat Juan Aurich 2-1 away to overtake them at the top of the championship standings by one point, employing tactics their Argentine coach Gustavo Costas called "spectacular".

Luis Trujillo struck a brilliant 30th-minute opener for Alianza with a free kick from close to the corner flag that went inside the top far corner. Pedro Aparicio scored the 75th-minute winner.

A penalty by former Boca Juniors and Newcastle United winger Nolberto Solano set Universitario on the way to a 2-1 win over 10-man Cienciano that put them in second, ahead of Juan Aurich on goal difference, with a game in hand.

Cienciano's Yosiro Salazar was sent off in the 55th minute, one minute after Solano's penalty. Gianfranco Labarthe increased their lead and Johnny Vegas replied in stoppage time.

BOLIVIA

Oriente Petrolero took sole lead in Bolivia's Apertura championship on 34 points from 19 matches with a 2-1 win over La Paz FC, while Real Potosi climbed to second with 32 points after beating Universitario de Sucre 2-0.

Petrolero's Luis Moza and Juan Pablo Fernandez of La Paz were sent off in the final half hour.

ECUADOR

LDU, crowned South American champions last year, beat El Nacional 2-0 with goals by Argentine striker Claudio Bieler, the first division's top scorer with 15, to close within a point of leaders Emelec. LDU's Renan Calle was sent off two minutes from time.

Emelec were leading Tecnico Universitario 2-0 at home before the championship's bottom side hit back for a surprise 2-2 draw.