One of the things that have motivated me to love River Plate more is the unconditional love that the fans have given to this team. Regardless of what position the club is in, fans always support and motivate the team to do better. Unfortunately, the majority of the players and the management of the club do not feel the same. Yes, I am extremely disappointed that River lost to Boca Juniors on Saturday night. To make things worse, River was in the lead and had an extra player on the pitch as Boca’s Battaglia was sent off. It was a heated match in Mar del Plata, a match that should have been won by River with all the positive factors in its favor.
River started the match really well. At one point, it seemed that it finally got its act together and was making progress. When Cabral scored River’s only goal towards the end of the first half, it felt like a long awaited relief had finally reached the club. It was an incredible atmosphere in the crowds, with every fan screaming like crazy against the archrival club. In the bench, coach Nestor Gorosito had “a lot on his plate”. Facing Boca Juniors, displaying a powerful team, and pleasing the fans was a challenge that he met up until Boca’s equalizer in the 40th minute. Jesus Datolo, Boca’s goal scorer, became River’s nightmare at that point and everything went downhill from there.
Halftime was a moment of reflection. River needs to reorganize itself and put some leadership into action. Well, leadership is lacking in this club. With one player ahead, River had a major advantage in scoring another goal. It had the players necessary to enact plays and create chances of goal but nothing happened. Once again, River returned to the disgraceful, ugly side that left the team in last place a month ago. With the game tied 1-1 and Boca answering strong counterattacks, it was no surprise that the “Xeneize” scored the winning goal by Jesus Datolo off a penalty shot. The final whistle blew, leaving River out of reach of winning the summer preseason tournament and losing once again to Boca Juniors.
