River Show Promise in Tuesday’s Torneo de Verano Draw

By: Christian | January 15th, 2009

River Plate 1 - Independiente

Photo courtesy LPM

River Plate came from behind this past Tuesday evening, drawing 1-1 with Independiente in their Torneo de Verano debut fixture played in Mendoza.

Fielding a side consisting mostly of reserves, Néstor Gorosito’s River were clearly not at full strength, and over the course of 90 minutes were all over the map. The squad did however enjoy long stretches of attack, and despite giving up a goal just prior to halftime, to their credit they remained in the game against an Independiente side that had days earlier routed Racing Club 4-0. After equalizing in the second half, they remained in the game until the final whistle.

It’s difficult to take away much from this one game, the first pre-season friendly of the year under a new coach. That being said, there were several promising signs, the brightest being forward Gustavo Fernández, River’s lone goal scorer of the evening. Included at the last minute in Gorosito’s summer squad, la Tortuga, or “the turtle” as he is known, had a very impressive debut, making an impact almost right away after entering the game in the second half. Despite being only 19, his big frame and speed gave River a new dimension in attack, and his first touch of the ball, a header off a free kick with his back to goal that was just pushed over the crossbar, was a rousing entrance to the game.

Sad then that his goal in the 75th minute was not as deserving as his performance. After two straight blunders from the Independiente keeper and defender, the ball was left right in from of Fernández who coolly slotted it into the net. Certainly nothing memorable, but his wild and passionate celebration, where he grabbed the River shield on his jersey and kissed it, was by far the best moment of the game, and displayed an excitement and confidence that has been missing from the team in months.

There were of course some problems. River’s defense had a sloppy night overall, struggling in the opening minutes to clear the ball from their own half, and losing possession many times in the midfield. Oscar Ahumada had a decent night, but failed to really command the field in his first role as captain. And Santiago Salcedo continues to struggle up top.

But again, River are only one game in, and there is much to go before the Clausura kicks off. Several other players have yet to see action, and Gorosito is still working on bringing in his reinforcements. All in all, Tuesday’s draw was a fine start.

Next up, River will meet Racing this Sunday.

2009 Torneo de Verano, Game 1
River Plate 1 – 1 Independiente

Scoring Summary:
Hernán Fredes (Ind), 46th
Gustavo Fernández (RP), 75th

River Plate:
Mario Daniel Vega
Danilo Gerlo, Gustavo Cabral, Facundo Quiroga, Cristian Villagra
Martín Galmarini, Oscar Ahumada, Matías Abelairas, Diego Barrado
Gustavo Bou, Santiago Salcedo

Substitutions:
Gustavo Fernández for Bou, 46th
Mauro Rosales for Galmarini, 46th
Mauro Díaz for Barrado, 72nd

Highlights: