River Plate 3 – 2 San Martín (SJ) – Suspended

By: Christian | March 2nd, 2008

River Plate 3 - 2 San Martin

Los millonarios were sitting comfortably in the lead this afternoon at home against San Martín, leading 3-2 and on pace to not only win their 3rd consecutive match in all competitions, but also leapfrog into a tie for first in the Clausura. But a water-logged pitch brought on by torrents of rainfall brought the match to an abrupt end with only 9 minutes left in the second half, and as a result, the game, which must now be completed at a later date, was suspended.

Despite the result that occurred the last time these 2 met, today saw a completely changed side that was superior in almost every aspect. Again Diego Simeone played with his lineup and made some fairly big changes, starting Buonanotte in place of Ortega, Nasuti making a start in defense, and the biggest being the inclusion of Sebastián Sciorilli. And the changes seemed to work right away, as River came out prepared, confident, and most importantly, working as a team. Sebastián Abreu put River ahead in the 17th minute, after el Loco was able to rebound his own shot that hit off the San Martín goal to net his first of the season. Unfortunately, a non-existent penalty put the visitors even after the referee erroneously called a handball on Ponzio (Replays showed the ball came off his shoulder). But justice came by the way of Diego Buonanotte, whose incredible golazo 1 minute later put the home side ahead 2-1 at the break.

The rain came down in buckets to start the second half, and River continuing where it left off, and by the time Nasuti’s header made it 3-1, it appeared that la banda were on their way to victory. Of course, a defensive slip-up lead to a stunning strike from Martín Bravo to make it 3-2, but River continued to move forward and came close several times to their 4th of the afternoon, none nearer than an Ortega free kick which missed the net by inches. But as the half wore on, the playing conditions at the Monumental worsened, with the playing surface resembling more of a slip-n-slide than a proper pitch. Players from both sides struggled with their control of the ball, and the football, rather than roll, would simply land with a thud and die. With only 9 minutes left in regular time, the ref made the decision to suspend the match, with the remaining minutes to be made-up at a later date.

While the playing conditions made it nearly impossible to play, and the risk of injury mounting as the pitch simply could not drain water, I question the ref’s decision, not just stopping the match with such few time left, but also the fact that he let the game go on for as long as he did. Now, River must meet San Martín again to complete a 9 minute game with halftime to make the scoreline official. Should the unthinkable occur and River go on to lose the match, the referee’s decision would be incredibly damaging to River’s title hopes, not to mention the huge controversy that it would cause.

Despite the outcome, River looked to be in control for much of the game, and despite some continuing problems in the back, continue to show progress as a team. While leaders Ortega, Falcao, and Carrizo seem to be steady in their positions, the emergence of Villagra and Buonanotte speaks to the depth of the squad as well as Simeone’s leadership. I fully expect River to hold onto the result and accumulate the three points, and come away from today’s game with a much better feeling moving forward.

And things will not be getting easier for River. Their next league match will be away to Estudiantes, a date not only vital for the points at stake, but will also mark the return of Simeone to the club that he led to a title 2 years ago. Can la banda continue this run of form on route to their first league title since 2004? Stay tuned.

River Plate
Juan Pablo Carrizo
Gustavo Cabral, Cristian Nasuti, Danilo Gerlo, Cristian Villagra
Leonardo Ponzio, Sebastián Sciorilli (Augusto Fernández, 46)
Radamel Falcao (Oscar Ahumada, 75), Alexis Sánchez, Diego Buonanotte (Ariel Ortega, 54)
Sebastián Abreu