Better Effort

Coming from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw at home, Newell's Old Boys showed signs that they may just yet come out of the tail spin they have been on.

For much of the first half Arsenal de Sarandí were not much of a problem, but La Lepra proved yet again that costly defensive errors can be deadly. The first Arsenal goal came when Newell's give up a free kick just outside of the penalty area. Luciano Leguizamón placed a perfect shot into the upper left corner. No faulting the wall, or Peratta, but the fouls in front of goal need to be avoided. The second was scored by Mauro Obolo off a perfectly placed cross... but one that the defense should have done better getting back to cover. Both goals came in the first half, no more than three minutes apart, shortly after coach Robert Sensini gave instructions from the sidelines for Luciano Vella to move up from defense to midfield, switching from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 formation on the fly. Senseless.

Falling behind 2-0, Newell's could well have collapsed at that point, much as they had done the last two games. Instead, they came out fighting in the second half, and it paid off quickly as Juan Manuel Cobelli, making his first start, proved yet again that he is quite capable of being a true 9. Arsenal keeper Cristian Campestrini, who did well to keep Newell's off the score sheet in the first half, only managed to block a shot from Nestor Camacho, and Cobelli pounced on the rebound to tighten the gap. Not long after that Sergio Almirón scored Newell's second goal, and that is how the match ended.

Mauricio Sperdutti was sent off for a second yellow with a little over 20 minutes to go, and will miss the next match. Hopefully this is not the start of a trend, as both Claudio Bieler and Rolando Schiavi missed this match due to red cards last week.


Up next a trip to El Fortín to face title contenders Vélez Sarsfield.