- The Colombian goalkeeper, who was called upon to play the tie against River Plate following Andrés Mosquera's injury, was the hero as Independiente Santa Fe booked their place in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarter-finals.
- He impressed in the first leg by keeping a clean sheet and then converted the decisive penalty in the second leg to send his side through away from home in an epic shoot-out.
CONMEBOL Sudamericana witnessed a thrilling night at the Mâs Monumental. All eleven outfield players from each side had to take part in the penalty shoot-out after the match finished 1-1 in normal time, and Asprilla — who had been instrumental in keeping his side alive after falling behind — sealed the Bogotá side's passage with a composed penalty past Santiago Beltrán (who saved three of Santa Fe's eleven spot-kicks).
La Gran Conquista produced a truly unforgettable cup tie that will live long in the memory of football fans. And Asprilla's name, after playing just 45 minutes of international football during the first half of the year, will forever be associated with the Colombian side's heroic achievement in Núñez.
The Quibdó-born goalkeeper was faced with a major challenge: a right-thigh muscle injury ruled Andrés Mosquera — the regular starter for Pablo Repetto's side — out of the Round of 16 tie against River Plate.
In those circumstances, the 27-year-old goalkeeper, who had only played one half against Peñarol in the opening matchday of the CONMEBOL Libertadores in April (also replacing Mosquera), proved decisive from start to finish.
In the first leg, he produced important saves to help the Colombian side record their third clean sheet in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana. But the second leg, at the home of the 2014 champions, was undoubtedly his night of glory.
In an adverse situation, and trailing after Sebastián Driussi's goal, Asprilla kept out a powerful Marcos Acuña strike that could have given the 'Millonario' a second goal. That crucial save, which gave his side another lifeline, proved to be the turning point.
The 'León' responded, levelled the tie through Franco Fagúndez and sent the contest to a penalty shoot-out.
In a tense sequence of spot-kicks, both goalkeepers stood out. But in the one-on-one battle, Asprilla came out on top. Santiago Beltrán saved three for the home side to keep River's hopes alive, but Asprilla delivered when his team needed him most: he saved Facundo González's penalty with the eighth spot-kick and then stepped up to take the decisive attempt — the 11th penalty — after all 21 other outfield players had already taken theirs.
He calmly read the situation, faced the Argentine side's excellent goalkeeper and struck firmly down the middle. Goal, release and celebration. From Weimar's spot-kick, Independiente Santa Fe secured a memorable qualification to the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarter-finals, a competition the Colombian side previously won in 2015.
Repetto's side will face Vasco da Gama in the next round, after the Brazilian club eliminated Paraguay's Olimpia.
