Boca Juniors move within touching distance of Apertura title after draw with Velez Sarsfield.
Boca Juniors are just a step away from clinching the Argentine Apertura championship, after picking up a precious point at Velez Sarsfield on Sunday. The Argentine giants would practically have sealed the title, had veteran defender Rolando Schiavi converted a first-half penalty kick.
With 32 points from 14 rounds of the Apertura, Boca find themselves in a commanding position, as their closest competition, Racing Club, trail them by eight points. Racing beat Argentinos Juniors 1-0, a result that keeps alive their title aspirations.
Meanwhile, in beating Banfield 2-1 Lanus not only climbed into third-place, but they made sure that their arch-rivals remain rock-bottom of the 20-team Argentine First Division.
Racing Club edged Argentinos Juniors 1-0 at the Cilindo de Avellaneda on Saturday. As well as putting an end to a string of five successive draws, the win allowed Racing to move into second-place of the table, eight points behind league leaders Boca.
Racing dominated much of the first half, but lacked precision when it came to their finishing. Diego Simeone knew that anything but the three points would put an end to Racing's title aspirations, and for that reason he urged his side forward.
Colombian striker Teofilo Gutierrez should have put Racing ahead in the first half, however, he missed a glorious opportunity to do so when he headed a cross onto the post, when it looked impossible to miss due to the fact that he was right in front of goal. However, his compatriot Giovanni Moreno was more accurate when in the 54th minute he connected to a Patricio Toranzo free-kick with a well-placed header, to give Racing the lead.
From that instance onwards Racing held onto their advantage, despite the fact that Argentinos did their utmost to force a draw. In Round 15 of the Apertura, which will be played in two weeks due to the 2014 South American World Cup qualifiers, Racing will be up against Boca Juniors, in a clash that will most definitely decide their fate in the championship.
Lanus climbed into third-place of the championship after coming from behind to defeat arch-rivals Banfield 2-1 in the derby of the South at the Florencio Sola stadium on Sunday.
Banfield pressed in the early moments of the match, and went ahead in the 6th minute when Lanus defender Paolo Goltz headed a right-wing cross into the back of his own net.
The goal seemed to have awoken Lanus, as in the 24th minute Mariano Pavone raced onto a headed pass from strike-partner Mario Regueiro before firing the ball home. In the 35th minute Carlos Izquierdoz put Lanus ahead when he connected to a precise Diego Valeri corner-kick with an unstoppable header.
In the second period Banfield pushed forward in search of an equaliser, however, although they created several goal-scoring opportunities they failed to convert them into goals. To cap off a forgetful afternoon, Banfield finished the game with ten-men after Alejandro Delfino was ejected in the dying moments.
Boca Juniors remain in touching distance of the Apertura championship after fighting out a goalless draw with Velez Sarsfield at the Jose Amalfitani stadium in Buenos Aires on Sunday. With the draw Boca opened an eight-point gap atop the league standings with only five rounds remaining in the season.
Boca, who have experienced an outstanding season so far, outplayed Velez in the first half, as they searched for a goal that would steer them closer towards the Apertura title. After several close calls, Boca were finally presented with a perfect opportunity to take the lead, when they were awarded a 35th minute penalty kick. However, Rolando Schiavi's spot-kick was expertly saved by Velez goalkeeper German Montoya.
Velez picked up their game in the second half, and dominated Boca for large periods, as they went in search of the three points. Ricardo Gareca's side missed a couple of decent opportunities to score, first through David Ramirez, and then through Ezequiel Rescaldani, but both efforts ended up in the hands of Boca goalkeeper Agustin Orion.
Pablo Mouche could have snatched Boca the three points late on, however, his looped shot was blocked by Montoya, before being cleared from danger by Velez defender Emiliano Papa.
Arsenal de Sarandi extended their undefeated streak to six matches after beating San Martin de San Juan 2-0 in the final match of Round 14 of the Apertura on Monday.
Arsenal went ahead as early as in the third minute when Emilio Zelaya latched onto a headed pass from Mauro Obolo, before sensationally chipping the ball over a defender, and then doing the same to San Martin goalkeeper Luciano Pocrnjic.
Gustavo Alfaro's side dominated proceedings after going ahead, and created several goal-scoring opportunities before they were awarded a penalty kick in the 51st minute, when Pocrnjic brought down Obolo in the area. Juan Pablo Caffa made no mistake from the spot to give Arsenal a two-goal lead.
San Martin were awarded a penalty of their own in the 73rd minute, however, Sebastian Ariel Penco blasted the ball over the crossbar, to the dismay of the visitors, who were down to ten-men after the dismissal of Maximiliano Nunez five minutes earlier.
Argentine Apertura - Round 14 Results
November 4
All Boys 2 - 2 Independiente
Atl. Rafaela 0 - 0 Belgrano
Olimpo 1 - 1 San Lorenzo
November 5
Tigre 2 - 1 Colon
Godoy Cruz 3 - 1 Estudiantes
Racing Club 1 - 0 Argentinos Juniors
November 6
Banfield 1 - 2 Lanus
Union 2 - 1 Newell's Old Boys
Velez Sarsfield 0 - 0 Boca Juniors
November 7
Arsenal 2 - 0 San Martin San Juan
With 32 points from 14 rounds of the Apertura, Boca find themselves in a commanding position, as their closest competition, Racing Club, trail them by eight points. Racing beat Argentinos Juniors 1-0, a result that keeps alive their title aspirations.
Meanwhile, in beating Banfield 2-1 Lanus not only climbed into third-place, but they made sure that their arch-rivals remain rock-bottom of the 20-team Argentine First Division.
Racing Club edged Argentinos Juniors 1-0 at the Cilindo de Avellaneda on Saturday. As well as putting an end to a string of five successive draws, the win allowed Racing to move into second-place of the table, eight points behind league leaders Boca.
Racing dominated much of the first half, but lacked precision when it came to their finishing. Diego Simeone knew that anything but the three points would put an end to Racing's title aspirations, and for that reason he urged his side forward.
Colombian striker Teofilo Gutierrez should have put Racing ahead in the first half, however, he missed a glorious opportunity to do so when he headed a cross onto the post, when it looked impossible to miss due to the fact that he was right in front of goal. However, his compatriot Giovanni Moreno was more accurate when in the 54th minute he connected to a Patricio Toranzo free-kick with a well-placed header, to give Racing the lead.
From that instance onwards Racing held onto their advantage, despite the fact that Argentinos did their utmost to force a draw. In Round 15 of the Apertura, which will be played in two weeks due to the 2014 South American World Cup qualifiers, Racing will be up against Boca Juniors, in a clash that will most definitely decide their fate in the championship.
Lanus climbed into third-place of the championship after coming from behind to defeat arch-rivals Banfield 2-1 in the derby of the South at the Florencio Sola stadium on Sunday.
Banfield pressed in the early moments of the match, and went ahead in the 6th minute when Lanus defender Paolo Goltz headed a right-wing cross into the back of his own net.
The goal seemed to have awoken Lanus, as in the 24th minute Mariano Pavone raced onto a headed pass from strike-partner Mario Regueiro before firing the ball home. In the 35th minute Carlos Izquierdoz put Lanus ahead when he connected to a precise Diego Valeri corner-kick with an unstoppable header.
In the second period Banfield pushed forward in search of an equaliser, however, although they created several goal-scoring opportunities they failed to convert them into goals. To cap off a forgetful afternoon, Banfield finished the game with ten-men after Alejandro Delfino was ejected in the dying moments.
Boca Juniors remain in touching distance of the Apertura championship after fighting out a goalless draw with Velez Sarsfield at the Jose Amalfitani stadium in Buenos Aires on Sunday. With the draw Boca opened an eight-point gap atop the league standings with only five rounds remaining in the season.
Boca, who have experienced an outstanding season so far, outplayed Velez in the first half, as they searched for a goal that would steer them closer towards the Apertura title. After several close calls, Boca were finally presented with a perfect opportunity to take the lead, when they were awarded a 35th minute penalty kick. However, Rolando Schiavi's spot-kick was expertly saved by Velez goalkeeper German Montoya.
Velez picked up their game in the second half, and dominated Boca for large periods, as they went in search of the three points. Ricardo Gareca's side missed a couple of decent opportunities to score, first through David Ramirez, and then through Ezequiel Rescaldani, but both efforts ended up in the hands of Boca goalkeeper Agustin Orion.
Pablo Mouche could have snatched Boca the three points late on, however, his looped shot was blocked by Montoya, before being cleared from danger by Velez defender Emiliano Papa.
Arsenal de Sarandi extended their undefeated streak to six matches after beating San Martin de San Juan 2-0 in the final match of Round 14 of the Apertura on Monday.
Arsenal went ahead as early as in the third minute when Emilio Zelaya latched onto a headed pass from Mauro Obolo, before sensationally chipping the ball over a defender, and then doing the same to San Martin goalkeeper Luciano Pocrnjic.
Gustavo Alfaro's side dominated proceedings after going ahead, and created several goal-scoring opportunities before they were awarded a penalty kick in the 51st minute, when Pocrnjic brought down Obolo in the area. Juan Pablo Caffa made no mistake from the spot to give Arsenal a two-goal lead.
San Martin were awarded a penalty of their own in the 73rd minute, however, Sebastian Ariel Penco blasted the ball over the crossbar, to the dismay of the visitors, who were down to ten-men after the dismissal of Maximiliano Nunez five minutes earlier.
Argentine Apertura - Round 14 Results
November 4
All Boys 2 - 2 Independiente
Atl. Rafaela 0 - 0 Belgrano
Olimpo 1 - 1 San Lorenzo
November 5
Tigre 2 - 1 Colon
Godoy Cruz 3 - 1 Estudiantes
Racing Club 1 - 0 Argentinos Juniors
November 6
Banfield 1 - 2 Lanus
Union 2 - 1 Newell's Old Boys
Velez Sarsfield 0 - 0 Boca Juniors
November 7
Arsenal 2 - 0 San Martin San Juan
