Clausura 2010: Gimnasia (LP) 1 – 1 River Plate

By: Christian | March 2nd, 2010

Flag of Chile

Fuerza Chile

Before I begin this week’s blog post, let me take a moment to remember all those who perished in last week’s devastating earthquake in Chile. I know I speak for everyone here at The Offside in wishing that country a speedy recovery as it begins to rebuild itself. Chile has blessed the game of football, including River Plate, with some amazing talent over the years, and we look forward to seeing their stars shine once again on the world stage. Aguante.

River survived a disastrous first half to draw 1-1 with Gimnasia de La Plata Sunday night. Gustavo Canales scored in stoppage time to give la banda a much needed point in what has become a fight to avoid a potential relegation battle next season.

On paper, a fight against Gimnasia, a team that has skirted relegation in recent years and whose biggest achievement of late was defeating rivals Estudiantes, should give any team in the Primera a reasonable chance at three points. Unless of course that team is the River that played during the first half on Sunday. It was a performance that made Gimnasia look like Barcelona taking on an under-13 side. River defended so poorly that el Lobo literally ran circles around them, with Gimnasia’s young 19-year old striker Marco Pérez, a rising star in Colombia, scoring in just the 8th minute.

The second half saw a different River side come out, this time with Marcelo Gallardo coming on as a sub to lend his experience. Los millonarios finally started to show signs of teamwork, and pushed the Gimnasia defense further and further back. They were better in creating scoring opportunities, and could have scored more if not for a stand-out performance by opposing goalkeeper Gastón Sessa, who had a handful of saves. Thankfully, a last gasp goal from Canales gave River a much needed point to bring them up 6 on the season.

Sunday’s match was a reminder of the new football in Argentina. The days of the dominance of the Big 5 are over. Nearly one-third of the way through the season, only one of the traditional powers, Independiente, is in the top half of the table. Racing Club will struggle all year to avoid relegation, a situation River could find itself in next season.

Instead, the dominance has shifted to the “smaller” clubs that are now legitimate contenders to the title in a wide open race. Colón and Godoy Cruz are currently holding the first and second spots in the league, and Banfield and Lanús are representing Argentina in the Copa Libertadores after River and Boca failed to qualify.

The first half against Gimnasia proves that in this new footballing landscape, River cannot afford to give any team an advantage. Imagine if River had played with the same intensity as they showed in the second half? A win would not have been out of the question. Instead, they doomed themselves to merely a draw. Not Good. Enough. So as long as River struggle to maintain consistency with a roster of youngsters and aging veterans, they will continue to lose ground to other clubs in La Primera, making their title bid that much more difficult.

River will host San Lorenzo this Thursday.

2010 Clausura Fixture 6
Gimnasia (LP) 1 – 1 River Plate

Scoring Summary:
Marco Pérez (GLP), 8th
Gustavo Canales (RP), 91st

River Plate:
Daniel Vega
Cristian Villagra, Alexis Ferrero, Nicolás Sánchez, Juan M. Díaz
Diego Barrado, Oscar Ahumada, Matías Abelairas
Rodrigo Rojas
Daniel Villalva, Gustavo Canales

Substitutions:
Marcelo Gallardo for Barrado, 46th
Rogelio Funes Mori for Villagra, 65th
Facundo Affranchino for Rojas, 77th

Highlights: