Most of you have been wondering why I waited this long to post the summary between River and San Martin of Peru. I was out of town due to work obligations and did not have a chance to post anything although I did see the match and was infuriated at the final result. Most of you already know the score from Thursday’s match but for those who are still wondering, River lost in Lima again the modest team of San Martin. River lost to this same team in last year’s Copa Santander Libertadores in the same stadium so one can say that “bad luck” followed again this year.
River arrived in Lima without Nestor Gorosito as the coach had to stay in Buenos Aires due to personal problems. Additionally, five of River’s main starters did not accompany the rest of team including Cristian Fabbiani. With these factors working against River’s favor, a win against San Martin in Lima would be a fabulous prize. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the outcome after the match was played. River played a tremendous match, resurrecting the potential of Rubens Sambueza as an important player in the team. His presence on the pitch allowed River to move up the field quickly and establish firm chances to score. Radamel Falcao scored the only goal for River in the second half and he could have had more but luck was not on his side. Despite the control of the match, San Martin took advantage of River’s few errors and came out with a win.
San Martin took advantage of a supposed penalty in the area and this goal became the dagger that killed River in Lima. After the match was done, all I could think about were the exaggerating comments by the Peruvian media. Granted that San Martin did beat River in Lima, did they expect to lose? It is not fair to compare both clubs, especially in victories and championships since River has over one hundred years of experience. The Peruvian media forgets about this and that River beat this club in Buenos Aires in last year’s encounter. How quick we forget.
One factor I would like to make note of is the penalty that was awarded to the Peruvian side. It seems that River has been the target of penalties awarded against the team. Not only has this happened in the past Copa Libertadores editions but in the local tournaments. I’m not making excuses for the result of the game, the attitude of the team, or any other factor but this personal observation had me fuming. It is not fair that River has to be the club with the least awarded penalties. Sometimes, these goals determine the outcome of the game and this situation in Lima proved me right.
