Estudiantes Handle Their Guests In The First Leg.

By: Mauro | October 22nd, 2008

Botafogo headed to Argentina to face Estudiantes on their ground but without two of their star players it seemed that Botafogo would have their hands full. And for a while they did. Estudiantes were happy to have an international match since they were well poised to create all kinds of problems for whomever came to town.

The match was well suited to Estudiantes style of play. A rough marking match with plenty of fouls and free kicks ensued but that was only after Agustín Alayes got his second yellow card in the 18th minute of play. Before that, Estudiantes had the match well in hand with most of the action taking place on Botafogo’s half of the pitch. Red Card to Estudiantes.

But once Alayes was sent off, the home side had to play carefully and try to pressure the Brazilian side in the midfield. That’s why, coach Leonardo Astrada lined up his defense with only three men and added another to the midfield to plug things up. And when it appeared that Estudiantes had no chance to stay in the game, they earned free kicks off an effective counter attacking stance that gave them a few opportunities on goal from Mauro Boselli and Gastón Fernández.

But Wellington Paulista had the miss of the match. On a play where he eluded both his defender and the keeper, his shot went well wide and out of play. But the second half came and went with neither team getting a leg up on the other.

In the second half, the most interesting parts of the match took place within mere moments of each other. Boselli, off a corner kick (read free kick) from Leandro Benitez, scored at the second post on an open goal. On that play, José Luís Calderón had been pestering the keeper, Uruguayan Juan Castillo, on his line causing him to come out to cover the cross too late and poorly timed. With the Castillo out of the picture, Boselli could place it anywhere on goal and it would have gone in. 1-0 to Estudiantes. With ten men.

Just a few minutes later, off a free kick again, Verón got the short pass and headed toward goal. On this play his own instinct and Botafogo’s defenders lax marking, Verón was given far too much space and he did what a man of his talents would do. He unleashed a rocket from outside the penalty area into the keeper’s right top corner and there was nothing any human could do in his place to stop it. Truly a fantastic goal. 2-0 to Estudiantes, again, with ten men.

To add insult to injury on the heels of Verón’s goal, Botafogo would be left without their captain, Tulio, in the 18th minute. Red card to Botafogo. Teams are level.

This could only put the match further away for the Brazilians who had trouble with a man advantage. The rest of the match ended with a few sporadic and unorganized attempts on goal from Botafogo. Estudiantes methodically kept possession while the Brazilians hurriedly moved forward with little organization.

Final Score: 2-0 to Estudiantes.

I had this match going 2-1 to Estudiantes. I would never in my wildest dreams have thought that Botafogo would have been held to zero goals, but then again, this lack of guarantees is what keeps us watching.

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.