River Loses In "La Bombonera"

I have no other way of saying this but River lost to arch rivals Boca Juniors by a score of 1 to 0. I expected a hard match Sunday afternoon in La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, and much of the crowd had similar feelings. Prior to the match, the atmosphere in the stadium was excellent from both sides. On River's side, supporters for the Millonarios made their presence known, something that Boca lacks when they play in the Monumental Stadium. As the first whistle approached, the tension rose and nerves quickly got agitated.

The game was even in the first few minutes of the match but Boca seemed to reach Carrizo's goal area constantly. This method proved successful for the "cousins" as Battaglia scored off a header from corner kick by Juan Roman Riquelme. The stadium erupted and the usual chants against River ensued. I always find it hilarious that the Boca fans, which supposedly are greater in number, are the most innovative fans. All that was heard through out the stadium were the same songs that they have been chanting for years and quite frankly, it is getting boring. But back to the game, after the goal was scored, River's midfield got a rude awakening as Boca started to dominate in this area. Few chances were created to tie before the half, and nothing concrete was shown by Ortega or Falcao, players that had much attention. The only player that seemed to show some spirit was Buonanotte, who every week, demonstrates this feature on the field.

The second half showed even a sleepier River Plate. If you thought that the first half was bad, this half was worse. River did not show any kind of strategy or play to counter attack Boca. Although Simeone used various schemes to change strategies, nothing seemed to work. Ponzio did an excellent job trying to defend River's side but one player put his reputation on the line. Towards the end of the match, Sebastian Abreu had the most clearest opportunity of the day for River to score the tie. His header went clear on top of the crossbar and the it left the River fans with the "GOOOOL" in their throats. I, for one, like Abreu but I'm beginning to think that he is good only because of his height, as his headers go everywhere but where they are intended to go. I may be wrong, but this goal that he missed was a crucial one. With this, Boca defeated River with a very marginal goal and now we have to put up with their so called "afiches", or "posters". To leave on a positive note, it had been almost four years that Boca could not beat River.