Saturday saw three matches in Argentina’s Primera División. First of all, Estudiantes de La Plata visited Banfield, with Juan Sebastián Verón playing for the second weekend in a row (and going off injured for the second weekend in a row). They won 3-0 against opponents who never gave them any trouble. Later, All Boys beat San Martín de San Juan 1-0 in Floresta thanks to an error from San Martín goalkeeper Lucas Pocrnjic, and Unión got a late winner against San Lorenzo. All those results will be celebrated by Tigre fans, who will finish the weekend above San Lorenzo in the relegation standings, having begun the season 17 points worse off than them. In Nacional B, Rosario Central beat Atlético Tucumán 2-0 and River Plate were held by Guillermo Brown of Puerto Madryn, 2-2 after a stoppage time equaliser from the visitors. That means Central now top the division, with River second, two points behind, pending Instituto de Córdoba’s match on Sunday. Next weekend? Central v River. Hold on to your hats (and in the meantime, watch Saturday’s goals here).
Banfield 0 – 3 Estudiantes
This loss puts Banfield even closer than before the relegation dogfight; they could be only a point above Tigre by the end of next weekend. They’re also second bottom of the Clausura, with the worst defence so far (though bottom-placed Olimpo, who play on Sunday, could overtake them in that regard).
All Boys 1 – 0 San Martín
All Boys’ win was secured via a very fortunate goal, it’s true, but was never in real doubt until a slightly frantic last few minutes. Pending Boca Juniors, Arsenal de Sarandí and Vélez Sarsfield playing later in the round (all three could overtake them), All Boys go third, only a point behind joint leaders Newell’s and Tigre. San Martín will end the weekend in the automatic relegation spots.
Unión 1 – 0 San Lorenzo
Unión’s last-gasp winner leaves them well above the relegation battle for the moment, and means that for the first time in 2011-12, San Lorenzo will end the weekend below Tigre in the Promedio standings.
Nacional B
Rosario Central 2 – 0 Atlético Tucumán
Central got a good win against Atlético Tucumán, and River’s draw a couple of hours later means the rosarino side are now two points clear in the league. If Instituto win on Sunday, they could go between River and Central in the table, but the crunch fixture will surely be next weekend, when River travel to Rosario.
River Plate 2 – 2 Guillermo Brown
Ignore the title the uploader has given this video; as the caption at the bottom makes clear, it’s definitely Guillermo Brown, not Almirante Brown, who are the visitors. You see? Even Argentines get confused by having two sides named after the same man.
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 