It was cold night in the Monumental Stadium on Sunday, causing some fans to stay home and watch River on the screens of their television sets. For the hardcore fans that did show up, their efforts battling strong winds went to waste. River desperately needed to gain three points in the standings. Each match is a step closer to qualifying to the 2010 Copa Santander Libertadores, but River continues to throw away every point. Leading the match by two goals in the second half, River lost focus and allowed Gimnasia & Esgrima de La Plata to pathetically tie the match.
River had everything it needed to win the match. Home advantage, fan support, and dominance in the starting line up. With a goal from Daniel Villalba in the first half and another from Diego Buonanotte in the second half, it seemed like the Millonarios had the game won. These two forwards clearly made an impact in the offense, especially with great assistance from Ariel Ortega. Unfortunately, the ‘magic’ would end when Ariel Ortega pulled a hamstring and had to leave the pitch. His injury also disqualified him from participating in Argentina’s exhibition match against Ghana on Wednesday. In his place came in Gustavo Bou, who had two clear chances to win the match at the end of the game but embarrassingly put the ball outside the net. Needless to say, things began to take a turn for the worse.
Defending River’s goal area was Nicolas Navarro and he could have had an all-around good match if it wasn’t for the two goals that passed through him. It only took fifteen minutes for Gimnasia to tie the match, thanks to their players having open shots against Navarro. River tried many times to bounce back and win the match, prompting Coach Nestor Gorosito to put in Crisitian Fabbiani in an act of desperation. In order for Fabbiani to play, River’s doubtful coach took out the rising star of the match, Daniel Villalba. Why make this substitution? Only the coach can answer that one since everyone is baffled to this day. Jeers and boo’s gracefully ended the match, leaving the Millonarios with 5 points in the standings and a pathetic fourteenth place.
