Unión San Felipe drew 2-2 with Deportes Temuco and Deportes Santa Cruz drew 0-0 with Deportes Antofagasta on Sunday. None of Rangers' direct rivals won in round 28 of the Liga de Ascenso, the second tier of Chilean football.
According to La Tercera, Rangers needed those setbacks. On Friday, the Talca side coached by Ivo Basay had suffered a heavy defeat against Santiago Wanderers in Valparaíso.
In the Aconcagua Valley, Uní-Uní let a two-goal lead slip. Gonzalo Jara opened the scoring in the 34th minute and Bryan González, on loan from Universidad Católica, extended the lead in the 45th. After the break, Diego Buonanotte pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute and Cristián Rocha, an under-20 striker, equalized three minutes later.
In Santa Cruz, in the O'Higgins Region, the match was lackluster. A clash of heads between David Tati and José Bández caused concern in the second half, although both stayed on the pitch. Five minutes from the end, a Josepablo Monreal header hit the post, denying Antofagasta victory.
Santa Cruz and San Felipe therefore have 23 points, although Uní-Uní have the worse goal difference (-32 versus -14). Rangers are bottom with 21 points. Antofagasta, meanwhile, are fifth with 45 points and remain in the playoff places, according to BioBioChile.
In Sunday's other match, San Marcos de Arica and Deportes Puerto Montt played out a goalless draw. The Arica side finished the round seventh with 40 points and the Dolphins twelfth with 35, according to TNT Sports Chile's post on X.
Curicó Unido secured their survival with a 2-2 draw against Deportes Iquique at La Granja. Henry Sanhueza opened the scoring (44'), Argentine Agustín Venezia scored twice (45'+2 and 53') and Leandro Benegas sealed the draw (67').
In the penultimate round, Rangers will be the only one of the three relegation-threatened sides playing at home, hosting Cobreloa, who are battling San Luis de Quillota for the title. San Felipe will visit Puerto Montt and Santa Cruz will travel to Copiapó. In the final round, Santa Cruz will face Rangers in a head-to-head clash.
