Arsenal did this the hard way. Having drawn 1-1 in the first leg, they were required to go to the Nuevo Gasometro and get the right result to send them through to the first round proper of the Copa Sudamericana. No side had beaten San Lorenzo at home since Ramón Díaz took charge.
But they have now. The rout started in just the seventh minute, with Jossimar Mosquera taking advantage of slack defending from a corner. As TyCSports put it, Díaz had claimed before the match that his side were the best footballing team in the country. That may be so, but they also seem to be one of the worst at defending dead balls.
Five minutes before the break, the lead was doubled when Jonathan Bottinelli beat San Lorenzo ‘keeper Agustín Orión to a free kick the goalkeeper really should have got to, and headed in off a post.
In the second half, Díaz introduced Andres Silvera to add some guile to the home side’s attack, and threw men forward. The result was that Arsenal could hardly get out of their own half of the pitch, but oddly they didn’t actually seem to having much difficulty keeping their hosts out of the penalty box, either. Try as they might, the league champions couldn’t break through. Then, halfway through the second half, came the final nail in the coffin: Arsenal got one sniff at goal, José Calderón shook off his marker 22 yards out, and stuck it in the top corner. A magnificent strike to put the tie beyond doubt.
In the next round, Arsenal play Goiás of Brazil, with the first leg to be played in Buenos Aires on the 11th September. Check back tomorrow for the video of tonight’s goals.
Photo pinched from tycsports.com
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hmmmm i wish they put Copa sudamerica more on TV where i am … its great football to watch