Burying The Undertakers

I really can't bring myself to praise Newell's Old Boys play today, despite a 3-0 victory over Chacarita Jrs. Did the dominate? No, not really, even though Cristian Nuñez scored a brace, and would have had three had it not been for Chacarita defender Franco Coria not tried to block a cross that was headed towards Nuñez, only to put the ball into his own net. I will say that I was impressed with how well Diego Torres played. He combined well with Nuñez and Mauricio Sperdutti, and while he has yet to regain the form he showed during the 2008 Apertura (he went out injured at the end of that campaign, and has just finally worked his way back onto the main roster,) but today he was the best player on the field.

According to the game statistics, Chacarita didn't manage a single shot, while Newell's took eight, four of which were on net (I'm assuming that Coria's own goal does not count towards Newell's shot total, though I may be wrong.)

That's not to say that Newell's keeper Peratta didn't have moments, collecting several crosses, and there were a few fouls just out side of Newell's area where a better team than Los Funebreros (the Undertakers) would have certainly created some tension... but this Chacarita team showed why they are destined for a short stay in the National A as they never mustered much of a threat.

Here are the goals from the match (watch the second one closely, as I'm still not sure if it was Nuñez or Fideleff who buried it):


So, with two wins in a row, it looks like Roberto Sensini won't be losing his job as coach quite yet. He still made a couple of moves that had me scratching my head a bit, like starting Mauro Fórmica. I spotted El Gato holding his hip a couple of times, so the reported minor hip injury may well be what's keeping him from playing at his best, and he is one of the players who will be facing a suspension the next time he sees yellow. A rest might have done him some good.

There was also the substitution Sensini made, Franco Dolci for Lucas Bernardi (45th minute,) Emanuel Dening for Mauro Fórmica (68th,) and Hugo Barrientos for Mauricio Sperdutti (81st.) Dening for Mauro isn't an issue, but the other two seem a bit out of wack. Wouldn't it have made more sense to bring Barrientos in for Bernardi, and Dolci for Sperdutti?

Ah, well. With a 3-0 win, it all looks good, right?

Up next, Newell's head across town to El Gigante de Arroyito to face Rosario Central. Los Canallas are again facing the possibility of relegation, mired in the depths of despair. It will be a pleasure to go into their stadium and take all three points.