River completed its first preseason match against Toronto FC with a win and the Carlsberg trophy in Toronto, Canada. With a group mostly made up of reserve players, Coach Nestor Gorosito took a great risk in acquiring the win. A good amount of supporters welcomed the Millonarios in Canadian territory, something well expected regardless of where River plays. One of the great things that distinguished our club with the rest is the faithful supporters who travel all over the world, supporting the squad. Unfortunately, the match between Argentines and Canadians would not be as great as expected.
The whole match resulted in a snore-fest that only brought a few exceptional plays from both halves. Matias Abelairas was River’s captain of the match, prompting some in La Pagina Millonaria to question the role. Based on his experience in the club against his teammates, it was the logical decision to award him the honor. The highlight player of the match, on the other hand, was River’s young goal keeper Leandro Chichizola. His quick wits and maneuvers avoided the Millonarios to be on the losing end several times. Luckily, Toronto FC’s strikers also were off in their shots as well as River’s strikers. As a result, the match ended at a draw and the winner of the Carlsberg Cup had to be decided over penalties.
As the pressure of penalty shots takes over both players and fans, the excitement of who will make or miss a shot intensifies. After the initial five shots for each team, River came out the winner with a score of 4-3. I should also mention that River missed two penalty shots that could have been easily scored but Toronto FC committed the same mistake with their shots. River’s first win of its preseason tournament brought home a lesser, commonly-known trophy back home but it resulted in a great motivator for the next match up against England’s Everton squad.