Woeful. Disastrous. Uninspired. There are many adjectives that can describe the game that will go down in history as River’s first loss in the B Nacional. After a week off due to the national elections, River returned to action hosting Mar Del Plata’s Aldosivi in the first meeting ever between these two clubs. Aldosivi , as expected, looked to defend first and find offense when opportunities presented themselves. So it was no surprise that most of the game would be played in Aldosivi’s end, yet River was again unable to be organized or precise in attack.

River has not found a successful strategy or style of play that they can impose on opponents week in week out. This is especially frustrating because River generally has an advantage in possession, but not much to show for it. The offense continues to be imprecise and disorganized.

It is also clear as day that when Carlos Sanchez and Martin Aguirre are not on their game, the team as a whole suffers. Both failed to contribute in a meaningful way, leaving Fernando Cavenaghi isolated in attack. Andres Rios, who had an acceptable game relatively speaking, was good pressuring Aldosivi’s defenders, but couldn’t connect with team mates.

Though they rarely threatened Chichizola’s goal, Aldosivi found the lead in the 20’ off a corner. Chichizola could not reach the headed ball, The only clear chance of the first half would fall to Rios who skillfully dribbled past the keeper only to see his shot turned away on the line.

For the second half, Almeyda sent Alejandro Dominguez on for Cristian Ledesma, who had been virtually invisible up to that point. It would take only a matter of minutes for luck to fall River’s way when referee Pablo Diaz incredibly awarded a penalty to the Millonarios. Not only was the foul itself dubious, the infraction clearly happened outside the box. Nonetheless, Cavenaghi would step up and level the score.

Dominguez though looked slow and out of shape after missing three games due to illness. River was disconnected and every attack would end in a cross into the box only to be cleared by Aldosivi’s defenders. Aldosivi closed the door every time and their patience would be rewarded with five minutes to go when a rare corner in their favor found Zanino, who beat Luciano Vella to the near post and give the visitors a deserved 1-2 win.

The loss is River’s first this season and leaves them 2 points behind Instituto. It was hard not to notice the look of concern on Almeyda’s face during the post game press conference, where he recognized the awful performance of his team. Next is a long trip up north to visit Gimnasia de Jujuy where River must find a way to get back on their feet.

Luciano Abecasis has started training again and is hopeful to play again in the coming weeks.

Investigators raided the club’s offices on Tuesday as they proceed with charges of fraud against the previous and current administration. In addition, investigators also visited the home of club president Daniel Passarella, though it appears nothing was found or removed from the premises. Allegations of irregularities have been made regarding the construction of the club’s museum as well as the transfers of several players. Also under scrutiny are overseas accounts belonging to former president Jose Maria Aguilar and former vice-president Mario Israel.

September 28 marks the International River Plate Fans Day. The day is in honor of the birthday of Ángel Labruna, the most legendary player ever to wear the River shirt. Labruna was a member of River’s historic La Maquina teams of the 40’s, and later would return to the club in the 70’s to manage the team to their first domestic title in 18 years. Labruna is a part of the club’s soul, just like the fans are, so it is only natural that on this great man’s birthday we also celebrate the joy of being a River Plate fan. The social networks were flooded with greetings and declarations of love for the club from fans around the world. Former players like Martin Demichellis, Juan Pablo Angel and Radamel Falcao sent greetings via Twitter, as did El Chori Dominguez and Carlos Sanchez.

Daniel Vega will be the substitute goalkeeper on Saturday. Vega lost the starting role just days before the start of the season due to an injured shoulder. Starter Leandro Chichizola isn’t likely to lose that job any time soon as his confidence is high and last week was considered River’s best player.

For the game Saturday it looks like Almeyda will only be making one change, Fernando Cavenaghi will return to action in place of Mauro Diaz. Almeyda will pair Cavenaghi and Dominguez up front with last week’s goal scorer Rogelio Funes Mori.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it should be mentioned that tickets made available for River fans were gobbled up in a matter of minutes through an online sale.

Finally, there were crossed declarations in the press regarding River’s traditional summer exhibition games against Boca. A high ranking member of the board of directors echoed the statements of Boca’s president who had argued that those games should not be played this year as River’s relegation will only serve to ramp up an already volatile fixture. This of course brought outrage from many River fans who share Almeyda’s sentiment that we would play Boca ever week if we could. It appears Passarella is also in favor of playing the games with our eternal rival and will push for the schedule to proceed as planned.