Chivas Earn a Big Win in Buenos Aires and River Continue to Find New Lows.

By: Mauro | October 23rd, 2008

Chivas earned themselves a hell of a win tonight at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. With little more than a few dangerous counter attacks, plenty of defense and an inspired keeper, Chivas was able to really complicate the situation for Diego Simeone. But it wasn’t all Chivas’ doing. If River Plate’s strikers had a little more luck, they would have been able to put away a few of the dozens of chances they created for themselves.

Obligated to show that they were up for showing the fans their commitment to the jersey especially after a particularly poor performance in Sunday’s SuperClásico, River’s players ran directly and sometimes in a disorganized manner at the Chivas defense.

Desperate to create the difference between themselves and the visitors, River’s players suffered from jitters and it seemed Sebatián Abreu was the only player who seemed above the desperation and jitters bringing the ball down in the penalty area on various occasions and making Chivas keeper Víctor Hernández’ night a difficult one.

Chivas sort of sat back and waited for River, since they had more of a obligation to come at them, and countered when River unorganized itself because they so eagerly came forward on offense.

And slowly but surely, Hernández became the man of the match within the first 30 minutes of the first half. Again, with waning clarity and poor finishing, River allowed Chivas to take this and get a foothold in a match they shouldn’t have despite the attempts from Augusto Fernández to control his team’s attacks.

With Omar Arellano, Ramón Morales and Sergio Santana running the counterattack for Chivas, near the end of the first half, Edgar Solis got a hard shot off that River keeper Juan Ojeda kept out but wit went off him and right in fornt of an oncoming Arellano. 1-0 to Chivas and the stadium exploded.

If the action on the pitch was not going to go their way, the River Plate ultras were going to let their displeasure known. Whether or not the players and coaching staff deserved the shower of insults and demands of the return of Ariel Ortega (seriously, check the vid down below for the reaction), I can’t imagine it was easy to try to turn things around on the pitch for the players.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the first half came to an end.

The second half brought more River possession but they were unable to make it near the penalty area where they could create danger. Chivas was also able to beat River to the ball which also kept them at bay. But while River was blindly going forward, Chivas played a counter to perfection with Arellano finding Fabián de la Mora in the penalty area to finish off a wonderful cross. 2-0 to Chivas.

But then, the River Plate faithful must have felt sorry for their team as you began hearing chants and songs of support for their team. I think that this was the main reason why River was able to cut the lead and gain a little hope for the second leg.

Following a handball in the penalty area by José Olvera doing his best impression of his keeper Hernández, River Plate was awarded a penalty kick, the first one in maybe a year or so. Abreu stepped up and exchanged the call for a goal, burying it deep to the right of Hernández. 2-1 to Chivas.

Final Score: 2-1 to Chivas and now the future doesn’t look so bleak.

I had this one ending in a 1-1 draw. I knew River couldn’t keep Chivas from scoring but I didn’t think they’d give up more than one. I personally believe that River still have a chance, but it won’t be easy (I couldn’t be a good River Plate fan if I didn’t honestly believe that).

The winner of this series face the winner of the Inter-Boca series in the Semi-Finals.

BTW, this is my 100th post for the Sudamericana and while that may not mean squat to you, it’s kinda of nice to know I’ve covered so many matches in this competition and given it the importance it deserves. I hope you all continue to enjoy my very hard work.

Feel free to check the CONMEBOL website for results and information about upcoming matches and for those of you in need of a bracket to get your heads around the competition, get an updated one here.