Ten-Man Boca Come From Behind To Defeat River

Despite playing with ten men for almost 60 minutes, because of the ejection of key midfielder Sebastian Battaglia in the 32nd minute, Boca Juniors recorded a heroic triumph over eternal rivals River Plate.

River Plate took a surprise 33rd minute lead through Gustavo Cabral, but Jesus Datolo turned the result in Boca's favor, with two goals, in the 40th and 79th minutes.

The match commenced with an electric pace, as both teams looked to win the first Superclasico of the year. Most of the pressure was on River's side, after having lost both derbies last year.

Both teams had their chances to score early on, but River were given a major boost, when Sebastian Battaglia reduced Boca to ten men, when he impeded Radamel Falcao Garcia with a nasty tackle from behind.

One minute later Gustavo Cabral put River ahead, after a series of rebounds in the Boca area.

However, Boca didn't allow this to affect them, and they drew level in the 40th minute when Jesus Datolo found the back of the net with a good finish.

In the second period Boca dominated proceedings, even with a numerical disadvantage. Although without the presence of key playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, Boca were very lively in the midfield.

As the minutes ticked by, Boca looked more and more dangerous, and they were awarded a penalty in the 79th minute, when second half substitute Cristian Chavez forced himself into the area and was brought down in the process.

Datolo stepped up to the spot and made no mistake, handing Boca a much celebrated victory over their fierce rivals.

Two minutes before full time, River defender Paulo Ferrari was dismissed by the match referee Hector Baldassi.

--Gregory Sica, Goal.com