The first official match of the second half of the year for River did not exactly go as planned. Facing local-side Lanus for the initial start of the Copa Nissan Sudamericana, River welcomed old faces to the club. Stepping on the pitch once again was Ariel Ortega and Marcelo Gallardo who retuned to River to help the club end its ongoing nightmare. A great crowd turned up at the Monumental Stadium despite the renovations and the shout of “Ortega! Ortega!” could be heard before the match. Unfortunately this great crowd would go home with another loss.
River needed to demonstrate from the start that it had recovered itself during the preseason. With the support of Ariel Ortega on the pitch, River would have experience leading them through the game. Cristian Fabbiani returned to the starting line up, trying to fulfill his role as ‘top goalscorer’. Debuting would be defender Maximiliano Coronel from River’s younger divisions. The rest of the line-up was the traditional players that Coach Nestor Gorosito seems to put up every week.
Minutes in the first half, River began to group itself together well on Lanus’s pitch. Ariel Ortega was able to maneuver himself around Lanus’s defender, allowing Diego Buonanotte and Rodrigo Archubi to have clear chances to attack. The only thing missing in the formula was definition. The chances were there, the strategy was in action, but the finishing touch was absent. Former River player, Radamel Falcao, would have taken advantage of these situations and it seems that River is already missing him. Cristian Fabbiani did the best he could but his team forgot that he was on the same team. He could have had clear chances to score but he was not getting the ball passed to him.
Since goals were not being made, Lanus took advantage of the situation and began to cover its weaknesses. All of a sudden, Lanus started to attack River from all angles and almost scored a few times. In one occasion, there was a one-on-one encounter with River goalkeeper Daniel Vega and a Lanus forward but Vega was able to block his shot. This alarming play made me realize that River’s defense is still weak. The first half ended with a 0-0 score, prompting much discussion in the locker room.
Marcelo Gallardo returned to the pitch at the 11th minute of the second half, replacing Rodrigo Archubi, and his presence quickly changed the team. The support of the crowd was greatly felt and this motivation led River to its first goal. Cristian Fabbiani put River on the scoreboard at the 22nd minute. With the lead, River was forced to readjust itself in the back since Lanus would now try to tie the match. At the 35th minute, they did just that. Eduardo Salvio made Lanus fans ecstatic with this goal and it made the team believe that they could win. On the other hand, River was now lost on the pitch and became totally disorganized. Maximiliano Coronel, with his lack of experience, committed an error and allowed Eduardo Salvio to score at the 45th minute, giving Lanus the victory.
