The 2011 Torneo Apertura got underway on Friday night, and Atlético Rafaela and Unión de Santa Fe, two of the newly-promoted sides, were both in action, and both showed they’ll be no pushovers this season. Rafaela got things going with a 2-0 win over Banfield, scoring twice very early on and hanging on in spite of having two men sent off; Unión later battled to a draw in a less thrilling game at home to Argentinos Juniors, with a magnificent overhead equaliser from centre back Juan Pablo Avendaño. That match, too, saw two men sent off. All the goals are right here, as usual.
Torneo Apertura 2011, first round
Banfield 0 – 2 Atlético Rafaela
Unión 1 – 1 Argentinos Juniors
You can follow the latest news from the selección and Argentina’s foreign legion of players, as well as the domestic championship, River Plate’s first second division campaign in over a century and the ever entertaining/tragic/infuriating capers of Julio Grondona & chums direct from Buenos Aires with HEGS on Twitter. If you’ve not signed up yet you can do so here. You can also join the official HEGS Facebook group, to keep up to date with the latest posts on the blog and discuss things with other fans. You’ll find it here. And remember to bookmark Hand Of Pod, our Argentine football podcast, or if you prefer you can subscribe to it on iTunes here.
Hasta El Gol Siempre 
Great chilena from a centre back. Where are the stat’s gurus to tell us how often that happens from a centre back, and by whom !?