Aguirre Sinks the Hot Air Balloon

River won 2-1 on a double by Martin Aguirre in the first half. The win keeps River at the top of the B Nacional table with a point advantage over Instituto, their next opponent.

Thousands of River fans made the trip to the Tomas Duco to see River face another former First Division foe in Huracan. The game got off to a bad start for El Millonario though when Gaston Machin put “El Globo” ahead 1-0 in the 7th minute. Alexis Ferrero gave up a silly ball just outside the River box and though Leandro Chichizola made a spectacular save on the first shot, he was helpless on Machin’s follow up.

The goal put River on its back foot for a brief period, but Almeyda’s team pushed forward and 7 minutes later found their reward. River regained its composure when Aguirre rose up to powerfully head home a cross off a corner kick.  1-1 and Almeyda implored his troops to press Huracan further up the field.

The aggressive pressing worked and five minutes later Aguirre would score what is probably the best goal of the season so far. Carlos Sanchez laid the ball off to Luciano Vella who dribbled towards the right corner before crossing a ball near the pentaly spot. The cross was behind Aguirre who from a near sitting position, with his back facing the goal, managed to volley the ball over his shoulder and past the keeper’s far post.  A stunning goal that Aguirre told La Página Millonaria was “the best goal of his career”, while admitting he’s still not sure how he managed to make it happen. The midfielder now has four goals for the season.

The rhythm of the game in the second half was much slower with more fouls than scoring chances. Huracan threatened Chichizola’s goal one last time as the final whistle approached but Vella would make an amazing clearance on the keeper’s doorstep to save the day.  It may have not been a sparkling one, but River got a deserved win as 2-1 would be the final score. 

Next is possibly the biggest test of the season with a match against Instituto, in Cordoba, that will pit the table’s top two teams. Almeyda is expected to have Alejandro Dominguez back, but the concern at the start of the week will be Vella’s health as the defender appeared to pull a muscle on the last play of the game.