River captured a point despite another lackluster performance. A stoppage time goal by Rogelio Funes Mori, his first in almost a year, spared Almeyda’s men of an embarrassing loss in their first ever meeting with Defensa y Justicia.
Cold, empty and forgettable. Fittingly, those adjectives match both the empty stands of the Nuevo Gasometro and River’s level of play. Playing their final game behind closed doors, River was unable to get things going even after an unexpected goal from Fernando Cavenaghi gave the Millonarios the lead.
River wasn’t able to break the pressure Defensa put on the ball. Their frantic and sloppy pace played into the hands of the team from Florencio Varela, who had the better of the chances until Fernando Cavenaghi got behind the back line to put a precise shot off the far post and in. As has happened several times already this season, River grabbed the lead when their opponent was playing better. Also of concern is the fact that the individual sparks keep outshining the team’s collective play.
The defense had a rough night, constantly overcomplicating matters when playing the ball out of the back. Alayes, Maidana, Diaz and newbie Vella all were slow when marking and out of sync when trying to push forward. The first half equalizer for Defensa came off a botched clearance that took an awkward spin past Vella leaving the opposing forward at point blank range to goal. Chichizola kept out the first shot but the rebound fell to Victor Piriz Alvez for the easy tap in. 1-1 and that was how the half would finish.
The second half saw Defensa being more active as River struggled to find a way to keep possession and build an attack. 13 minutes had passed when Piriz Alvez got his second goal on speedy counter that had the entire River defense in complete disarray.
As the game wore on, the ghosts of River past started to show up. Gone was the determined team that we saw in the first few games, replaced by that familiar unproductive nervousness and desperation. River looked destined to take home their first loss of the B Nacional campaign until second half substitute Funes Mori out jumped the defense to head home the equalizer in stoppage play.
If there were any positives to take away from this match it would be the performance of Lucas Ocampos. The youngster was dangerous around the area and collaborated in recovering the ball in the midfield. River slipped to second in the table and now heads to Avellaneda to face Deportivo Merlo next Saturday.
