Copa Libertadores 2009: Universidad San Martín 2 – 1 River Plate

By: Christian | March 6th, 2009

River Plate may have deserved better, but it was Peru’s Universidad San Martín that prevailed with a 2-1 victory in last night’s Copa Libertadores Group 3 match in Lima. It was River’s second straight loss at the Estadio Nacional, after falling 2-0 to the same side last February.

Despite six changes to the starting lineup following last Sunday’s 5-1 to San Lorenzo, and without coach Nestor Gorosito, who was away dealing with a family emergency, this revised squad performed very well, particularly in the second half, but despite strong performances from the returning Rubens Sambueza, and a solid debut from keeper from Mariano Barbosa, los millonarios were unable to grab their second straight Copa victory.

They certainly did themselves no favors in the first half, allowing San Martín far too many chances and once again showing weakness in defense. River could do nothing however when San Martín were gifted a non-existent penalty in the 37th minute after the ref confused a dive for an actual foul. Barbosa had no chance of stopping José Luis Díaz’s shot, which would effectively end River’s chances.

The second half saw River finally showing some consistency, and the offense seemed to grow in confidence as the attacks on San Martín came with more frequency. But the Peruvian’s one shot on goal the entire half came at the worst possible moment, with River’s defense caught ball watching as Gonzalo Ludueña’s strike slip past Barbosa.

Radamel Falcao finally found the net in the 68th minute, and every intent after was made to find the equalizer, with forward Gustavo Bou replacing denfender Danilo Gerlo to add to the Rosales/Falcao attack. River were controversially denied what looked like a penalty on Falcao that the referee did not award. It was not the most flagrant foul, but there was contact, and it was certainly more obvious than the invisible penalty called in San Martín’s favor. Despite further opportunities, there just wasn’t enough time left, and River were left to rue their slow performance to start the game. They now sit in third in their group with 3 points.

Many players, especially Gustavo Cabral, were furious after the game ended, arguing with the ref about the no-call on the penalty, and many saying that they deserved more. Bullshit. Calls go for and against a team all the time. You can either take advantage of the calls in your favor, or you can brush aside those that aren’t. Yes, River should have gotten a penalty which would have led to at least a draw, but they didn’t, and since they wasted the first half, they have no one to blame but themselves for not earning what should have been an easy 3 points. The game is 90 minutes, and I’m tired of seeing River looking piss poor in one half, the stepping it up in the second, only to come up short.

Will this loss come back to haunt la banda? Assuming they can rebound from this defeat when they face Nacional de Uruguay, there is no reason why they shouldn’t advance out of their group. But if the team continues on this pace, it’ll be another year of heartbreak in the Copa.

This Sunday, it’s away to Arsenal in the league.

2009 Copa Libertadores, Group 3 – Game 2
Universidad San Martín 2 – 1 River Plate

Scoring Summary:
José Luis Díaz (SM), 37th
Gonzalo Ludueña (SM), 54th
Radamel Falcao (RP), 68th

River Plate:
Mariano Barbosa
Danilo Gerlo, Gustavo Cabral, Nicolás Sánchez, Rodrigo Archubi
Martín Galmarini, Oscar Ahumada, Nicolás Domingo, Rubens Sambueza
Mauro Rosales, Radamel Falcao García

Substitutions:
Marcelo Gallardo for Domingo, 60th
Gustavo Bou for Gerlo, 68th
Diego Barrado for Sambueza, 90th

Highlights