Still on Top in the Clausura

Imagine going to the number one team in any league and having no fans to support the team? Imagine seeing such few fans that the visiting team feels at home? Well, unfortunately this is what happened to River this past Sunday. In front of a minor crowd, which included only “socios” (these are fans who purchase a membership with the club), River was able to pass Tigre by a marginal score of 1-0.

There was a lot of expectation through out the week for this match to take place. Last time these two teams met, Tigre came out victorious from their home turf with a tremendous score of 4-1. Not only was this a dagger to each River fan, but also Tigre’s coach, Diego Cagna, was one of the most despised players as he played for Boca Juniors. This time, River went out to play being the leader of the tournament and its place was in line. The first half of the match was in Tigre’s favor as statistically, they had more concrete chances to score. Carrizo had to step his game up again and show his skills as he, once again, became River’s sole line of defense. The half ended with River lost on the field and a sour taste in every fan’s mouth.

At the beginning of the 5th minute of the second half, River’s Radamel Falcao scored the only goal of the match off a header to get it past Tigre’s Islas. With this goal on the board, River came out more positive and determined to keep its rhythm up. Buonanotte was a key figure during the second half as his skills helped River keep the midfield open and in control. Granted, Tigre had a few counter attacks that left the defense mind boggled, but it seemed that everything was going to turn in River’s favor. Towards the end of the match, Alexis Sanchez almost scored the second goal off a breakaway but unfortunately, it went over the cross bar.

The match ended on a cool Buenos Aires afternoon and the fans, knowing that River could have played better, applauded the leader of the tournament. The next match for the Millonarios is against San Martin of Peru on Wednesday in the final match of Group 5 for the Copa Santander Libertadores in Buenos Aires.