River Plate and Colon de Santa Fe gave an anticipated crowd a boring match this past Sunday in the Monumental Stadium. River returned back home after two weeks to play Colon and with the intention of adding three points in the standings. Sporting the new gray third jerseys on home turf, River came out with its full starting line against a Colon that has gained strength in the past few tournaments. Led by Ariel Ortega once again, the Millonarios had full support of its die-hard fans through out the whole match but the team once again failed its’ fans. The 0-0 tie in Buenos Aires left River with a total of four points and a gruesome fourteenth place in a twenty-team tournament.
One of the articles titles in ‘La Pagina Millonaria’ referring to this match states “A team as dull as the jersey”. With that, nothing more could be said about this match. Talk about missed chances from both teams! I really won’t go into Colon as we don’t care about them but for our beloved River, it can’t get any worse. River’s forwards had clear chances to score but neither of them put the ball in the net. The only chance that was clear for River was a postponed goal from Gustavo Cabral in which the linesman made a false claim. In fact, Cristian Fabbiani was booed through out the match and during his inevitable substitution in the second half. The defense once again looked weak, proving once again that Coach Nestor Gorosito is lost with his tactics.
Although the second half was a bit better, it still showcased many missed chances. The only player that can be saved would be Matias Almeyda. Yes, the 35-year-old player from River’s old glory days is showing everyone the pitch that love for River outweighs any other factor and that determination to bring the club forward is the number one priority. Hopefully, his stamina keeps up and an ounce of his determination reaches the rest of the team.
River’s next game is for the Copa Nissan Sudamericana against Lanus. River needs to win this match by two goals in order to advance to the next round. Much has been discussed through out the days as to how River will line up and which players will be available. The best thing I can tell you is that it is going to be a rough match, but I have confidence that River will win in Lanus.