Argentine Apertura Round-Up – Tight At The Top As Three Points Split Top Six

Tim Sturtridge summarises the best of the Apertura action...

Nov 4, 2009 7:20:05 AM

Pablo Caballero - Racing Club

Fecha 12

Saturday, 31st October 2009

Vélez Sársfield 2 - 0 Godoy Cruz

Racing Club 4 - 0 Atlético Tucumán

Gimnasia La Plata 2 - 2 San Lorenzo

Sunday, 1st November 2009

Chacarita Juniors 2 - 2 Argentinos Juniors

River Plate 0 - 1 Lanús

Rosario Central 2 - 1 Boca Juniors

Arsenal 1 - 0 Independiente

Monday, 2nd November 2009

Banfield 2 - 1 Estudiantes

Tigre 1 - 2 Newell's Old Boys

Tuesday, 3rd November 2009

Colón 3 - 0 Huracán

Vélez Sársfield 2 - 0 Godoy Cruz

Vélez Sársfield took temporary charge of the Apertura table with a convincing home win against Godoy Cruz.

A goal in each half secured the points for Ricardo Gareca’s side, as they look to retain the Argentine Championship.

Vélez’s first goal was engineered by some great work by Rolando Zárate down the left wing. He skipped away from two defenders, before sending a cross into the box. Vélez skipper Fabián Cubero was on hand to hook the ball inside the near post and give his side a first half lead.

Torrential rain interrupted the game and it was difficult for either side to get any real rhythm going. It was Vélez, however, who always looked in control and the points were eventually sown up with less than an hour played.

Cubero’s cross-come-shot was not properly dealt with by Godoy Cruz’s Nelson Ibáñez and when the ball fell to Leandro Somoza outside the box again the 'keeper could only flap at the effort. A weak hand was not enough to stop the long range shot from dropping over the goal line and doubling Vélez’s advantage.

The home team’s seventh win of the season keeps them well in hunt for the Championship, while Godoy Cruz find themselves confined to mid-table obscurity.

Racing Club 4 - 0 Atlético Tucumán

Winless and managerless, it was hard to see Racing Club pulling up any trees when they faced Atlético Tucumán on Saturday.

However, caretaker boss Juan Barbas managed to get the kind of performance out of the Racing players which has been eluding them all season.

The rout started in the first 10 minutes when Pablo Lugüercio stabbed the ball home to give Racing an early lead.

The home side’s second had a touch of fortune, as a deep corner bounced around the box before finding its way to Pablo Caballero. The linesman's flag stayed down and Caballero’s shot rebounded off the base of the post back onto his left foot. With his second bite of the cherry he made no mistake.

Racing went in at half time three-nil up, thanks to Adrián Lucero’s deflected shot wrong-footing Tucumán’s Lucas Ischuk and nestling in the back of the net.

The icing on the cake for Racing came midway through the second half, when Lucas Aveldaño found himself unmarked at the far post and turned in La Academia’s fourth of the night.

Caretaker manager Juan Barbas has now returned to the backroom staff, after the arrival of new boss Claudio Vivas. The result leaves Racing a point behind Atlético Tucumán at the wrong end of the table.

Gimnasia La Plata 2 - 2 San Lorenzo

Diego Simeone’s San Lorenzo missed out on their chance to go top of the table by conceding an injury time equaliser at Gimnasia La Plata.

It was the home side who first took the lead after a mix up in San Lorenzo’s defence let in José Vizcarra, who duly punished the mistake.

Title hopefuls San Lorenzo got back on level terms just before the interval when Juan Menseguez’s sweetly struck penalty left Gastón Sessa with no chance.

The away side then took the lead almost immediately after the restart through half time substitute Pablo Pintos. The forward picked up the ball by the corner flag, cut back onto his left foot and curled a speculative effort over Sessa and into the top corner.

The goal looked to be taking San Lorenzo to the top of the league but their smiles were wiped off in the first minute of injury time when defender Rubén Maldonado rose highest to meet a corner and give the home side a share of the spoils.

Chacarita Juniors 2 - 2 Argentinos Juniors

This pulsating encounter did little to alter either team’s league position as both sides finished the game with two goals apiece and down to ten men.

Newly promoted Chacarita Juniors held the lead twice in the game but were pegged back on both occasions by a useful Argentinos Juniors team.

A first half Chacarita corner was poorly cleared and the ball was once again tossed into the box. After a spot of pinball in the Argentinos’ area, opposition captain Cristian Grabinski was allowed the time and space to turn the ball in.

Just shy of the hour mark Chacarita 'keeper Cristian Cejas was embarrassed by Nicolás Pavlovich’s header from the edge of the box. The goal bound effort had little pace but the bounce of the turf dumbfounded the keeper as it looped up into the net.

It took the home side ten minutes to respond, as Facundo Parra’s half volley from 20 yards out flew past Sebastián Torrico to restore Chacarita’s lead.

Argentinos have demonstrated already this season that they are made of stern stuff and Mauro Bogado’s long range last minute equaliser was further testament to the spirit which has taken the team to seventh in the league.

As for Chacarita it looks like their stay in the top flight will be a short one, as they stand second from bottom.

River Plate 0 - 1 Lanús

The big news pre-match was the withdrawal from River Plate’s squad of Ariel Ortega due to depression.

The enforced change meant Leonardo Astrada reshuffled his deck for his third game back in charge at El Monumental.

A game short on quality got its sole moment of inspiration shortly after the half hour mark.

An indirect free kick over 25 yards out was rolled into the path of Lanús skipper Maximiliano Velázquez who really found the middle of the bat with his strike. The ball bent away from the River wall and left keeper Daniel Vega no chance as the free kick scorched into the top corner of the net.

Diego Buonanotte and Marcelo Gallardo did their best to get River back into the game but the occasion turned out to be just another forgettable day in the recent history of the troubled club.

The visitors however still harbour realistic intentions of qualifying for the next edition of the Copa Libertadores and picking up another three points did their chances no harm at all.

Rosario Central 2 - 1 Boca Juniors

Goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri put on a Halloween horror show which had Boca fans watching this game from behind the sofa.

Both goals conceded by the 37-year-old on Sunday in Boca’s 2-1 defeat away to Rosario Central came from a lack of anticipation.

Central’s first came direct from a free kick for which Abbondanzieri began to move before the ball was even struck. This left him no chance to change direction and stop the ball heading into the corner of the net completely unprotected by his wall.

Juan Krupoviesa got Boca back on level terms with a blistering strike from another free kick. Krupoviesa’s bullet strike split the wall and went in off the underside of the crossbar.

The move for Central’s winner started with poor defending from Fabian Monzon allowing Gonzalo Castillejos to stroll unopposed into Boca’s penalty area.

As the forward hit the byline a quick look up told him Abbondanzieri was expecting him to pull the ball back across the six-yard box. With the keeper showing Castillejos clear daylight at his near post, the striker responded by slamming the ball in the gaping space between the veteran custodian and his upright.

The result leaves Central just two points off a Copa Libertadores place with Boca a further five points behind the team from Rosario.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Independiente

Independiente failed to build on their impressive win in the week against Colón as they went down to defeat on their visit to Arsenal.

The game’s only goal came from a rapid counter attack launched by the home side midway through the second half. Arsenal striker Franco Jara latched on to a measured through ball and drove into the box with the ball at his feet.

With no defender within 10 yards of him Jara casually lifted the ball over Adrián Gabbarini to give Arsenal the lead.

After a few seasons in the doldrums Arsenal fans are happy to see their club holding their own in midtable while Independiente’s slim chances of entering the Copa Libertadores took a blow.

Banfield 2 - 1 Estudiantes

The points stayed in Banfield at the conclusion of this top of the table clash and the home side regained pole position in the Apertura.

The deadlock was broken just ten minutes in when Santiago Silva collected a knock down in the Estudiantes area. A classy turn from the league’s leading marksman gave him the space needed to fire a low shot just inside the far post.

The visitors’ task wasn’t made any easier when they lost Enzo Pérez to a straight red card just three minutes after falling behind.

With a player of the quality of Juan Verón in your ranks however you are never too far out of a game and the Argentine international produced a piece of magic to get his side on level terms late on in the first half.

The Estudiantes’ skipper was closer to the halfway line than the edge of Banfield’s box when he hit the ball but it had nestled in the back of the net before Cristian Lucchetti knew what was coming his way.

The game’s winning goal turned out to be a great individual effort Walter Erviti as Banfield’s number ten wriggled away from three markers before hammering the ball home.

The win puts Banfield joint top alongside Newell’s with Vélez, Colón, San Lorenzo and Estudiantes all snapping at their heels

Tigre 1 - 2 Newell's Old Boys

Newell’s Old Boys showed no mercy as they piled further misery on the league’s bottom placed club on Monday night.

Newell’s have aspirations at the other end of the league and three points keep the team from Rosario level with the leaders.

It took the visitors over an hour to establish a lead but the goal eventually came when Mauro Fórmica rode a challenge and fired home into the near post.

The lead did not last long however as two minutes later a Tigre free kick was turned past his own keeper by Newell’s player Antonio Boghossian.

It was fitting therefore that it was Boghossian himself who finally got Newell’s winner five minutes from time. The striker made amends at the right end as he rose to nod a cross past Daniel Islas.

The win leaves Newell’s in the hunt for both the title and place in Copa Libertadores while with just one win and eights defeats the season can’t finish soon enough for Tigre.

Colón 3 -0 Huracán

A second half hat-trick from Federico Nieto kept Colón in the title race as Huracán capitulated late on in the encounter.

The game seemed to be heading towards a stalemate with the score locked at nil-nil heading into the last 15 minutes.

Colón’s leading marksman had other ideas though and put on a real show in front of his home crowd in the closing stages of the match. Nieto wrapped up the points with a ‘perfect hat-trick’ scoring one with his head, one with his right foot and one with his left foot.

Huracán simply had no answers once the striker started his torment and the three points put Colón just two points off the pace in the Championship race.

Angel Cappa’s visitors stay in the lower reaches of the table as a poor season looks set to undo their previous good work towards Copa Libertadores qualification.

Tim Sturtridge, Goal.com

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Argentine Apertura Round-Up – Tight At The Top As Three Points Split Top Six

Tim Sturtridge summarises the best of the Apertura action...

Nov 4, 2009 7:20:05 AM

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