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Argentina Soccer: Boca Juniors and Racing Soar, As River Plate Is Robbed at the Death

John Tilghman Correspondent IOctober 18, 2010

River Plate players protest after a valid goal was disallowed in the last minute of stoppage time.
River Plate players protest after a valid goal was disallowed in the last minute of stoppage time.

In a thrilling, yet controversial weekend in Argentina, the big clubs and title suffered differing fates, as Boca Juniors, Racing, Velez Sarsfield, and San Lorenzo claimed important victories, while River Plate fell at the final hurdle after a controversial refereeing decision and Estudiantes were held by Colon in Santa Fe. 

The weekend began on Friday night with Velez moving temporarily within two points of Estudiantes thanks to goals by striking duo Juan Manuel "El Burrito" Martinez and Uruguayan Santiago Silva, who netted the second score with a wonderfully lobbed goal to put the game out of reach against Quilmes. The two hitmen now sit atop the goal scoring charts with seven each. 

On Saturday, the leaders, Estudiantes de La Plata, took the field in Santa Fe in the "Elephant's Cemetery," so named for the amount of big clubs that have fallen to Colon at their historic stadium over the years. 

It looked as though Estudiantes would be the latest scalp for Colon when captain Esteban "Bichi" Fuertes put the home side up within the first five minutes. It looked bleak for Estudiantes, who were without captain Juan Sebastian Veron, but Enzo Perez won a penalty and Gaston "La Gata" Fernandez earned the away side a point from the spot. 

On Sunday, Boca Juniors toppled Huracan 2-0, thanks to a stunning strike from legendary captain Martin Palermo just before halftime. Lucas Viatri rounded off the victory in the second half. 

Later in the day, Racing Club overcame a first-half deficit to beat Argentinos Juniors 2-1 thanks to a pair of goals from Colombian international Giovanni Moreno. 

The ex-Atletico Nacional man tied the game with a brilliant free-kick goal into the top corner before he was played through on goal by a clever back-heel from Claudio Bieler. Moreno made no mistake and beat Nico Navarro at his near post with a well-placed finish. 

In the game of the week, River Plate traveled west to Mendoza at the foot of the Andes Mountains Sunday night to face Godoy Cruz in a thrilling back and forth 2-2 draw. 

Ex-Estudiantes man Mariano Pavone was the key man for River Plate, creating the opening goal, which came about some what fortuitously. 

Erik Lamela played a neat pass through to Pavone, who struck the post, but Leonardo Sigali inadvertently bungled the rebound into his own net to hand River a 1-0 lead at the half. 

Godoy Cruz refused to be held down, though, and "La Tomba" equalized, following a fast break with a powerful drive from David "El Mago" Ramirez, who netted his sixth goal of the tournament. 

At this point, the action was thrilling end-to-end stuff, with each team creating chances, but it was River Plate who retook the lead as Pavone followed a chipped through-ball by Ariel Ortega. 

With over 18,000 away fans in the crowd to support River Plate, the stadium was rocking. The 30,000 Godoy Cruz supporters were stunned until another piece of magic from Ramirez leveled matters at two. 

The former Olimpo man avoided Walter Acevedo's tackle and slipped a through-ball to Cesar Carranza, whose low shot beat Juan Pablo Carrizo at the far post. 

Carranza then missed a gilt-edged chance in stoppage time, and it appeared the game was headed for a draw when River Plate scored a beautiful winner through substitute Gabriel Funes Mori. But the referee adjudged that the Manchester City target had used his arm to bring down the ball, even though the linesman, who was better located, did not wave his flag, nor did any Godoy Cruz players complain. 

Replays showed that the referee was indeed wrong, but it was of no solace for River, who had to settle for a fourth straight draw, and has now not won outside of Buenos Aires since February 2009, when they beat Rosario Central 2-1. 

The poor away form of River and the inability to close out games has been overshadowed by the poor decision by the referee, but the weaknesses in the team cannot be denied. 

Defensively, the team is a complete mess outside of the comfortable confines of the Estadio Monumental in Nunez. 

Manager Angel Cappa is going to be put under more by the fans for his substitutions and lineups, but it is unfair to blame the former Huracan boss for the laughable defending that gifted Godoy Cruz its first goal. 

Now, River must face Racing next week, and it is likely that Cappa will again change his lineup, meaning he will not have repeated the same starting eleven for two straight games.