If there are a few teams that give River trouble every time they face off, one of them is Banfield. Also known as “The Drill”, the team in green and white has been a troublesome opponent for River in the past few years. Many have speculated that Banfield has internal ties with Boca, and that repetitive transfers between the clubs have been proof of this union. Regardless, Banfield came to Nuñez with a desire to win and they did a good job trying to prove their desire. On the other hand, River came to the match with a tremendous amount of morale support as positive results have been in River’s favor for the past three weeks.
An interesting note is that River had green colors all over the crowd, but it was not related to the opposing team but to Cristian Fabbiani, the “Ogre”. Shrek masks could be seen resembling River’s new hero, left and right. As the crowds pumped themselves up with chants in favor of River and the “Ogre”, River commenced another match at home. As soon as River found the rhythm of the match, the Millonarios started to attack with the usual trio of the past few matches, Rosales-Buonanotte-Falcao. River did manage to reach Banfield’s goal area but it lacked precision in defining the attack. Due to this, River had a hard time getting back together during a quick counter attack. Nicolas Bertolo, Banfield’s main attacker, took full advantage of this weakness. Working his way up on the left side of the field, Bertolo gave River’s Juan Ojeda various opportunities to demonstrate his goalkeeping skills. There were some instances where I thought Banfield would score but Ojeda proved me wrong every time.
As the half approached, River was awarded a free kick outside the goal area at the 36th minute. Matias Abelairas would be the man in charge of executing the shot and his excellent shot allowed River to go up on the board. With River up by a goal at halftime, it was clear that a sloppy first half was played but being in the lead would cover that. The second half was very similar to the first, but this time there would be more playmaking at the feet of Cristian Fabbiani. With his arrival at the 16th minute, River dramatically changed their way of playing. Fabbiani brings a new form of action for River and his role is quickly transforming from player to leader. It took all but twenty minutes for Fabbiani to be involved in the second goal for River as Radamel Falcao received an open pass from the “Ogre” to drill past Banfield’s goalkeeper. The match was done and River found themselves with a three game winning streak and a new, invigorating confidence to win the league and the Copa Libertadores.
