Argentine Cup: After incidents outside the stadium, Newell's defeated Defensa y Justicia.
After the anguish and chaos caused by the incidents outside the San Nicolás stadium, when rubber bullets were fired and fans raced as they tried to enter without tickets, Newell's celebrated a more impressive victory on Thursday than on the pitch, advancing to the round of 16 of the Copa Argentina with a 2-0 victory over Defensa y Justicia.
Rosario, close to the city in northern Buenos Aires, was accompanied by a large crowd in one of the most used neutral venues for this federal tournament. Just over an hour before the match, there were violent clashes between violent fans of La Lepra and security forces around the stadium. In addition to gunfire and fleeing, there were punches thrown.
The spectators, including the civilized ones, had a tough time, as traffic jams arose, exacerbated by traffic restrictions due to the flooding that continues to affect National Route 9. Supporters of Defensa y Justicia, clearly outnumbered, had even more difficult access from the more distant Florencio Varela.
Like Lanús the day before against Vélez (2-0), the winner struck in the first half and finished with a certain ease due to the slack in the victory. One of the most striking actions of the game occurred in the opening stage, when Gonzalo Maroni received the ball from the side, faced down the wing, left Alexis Soto running, thwarted Kevin Gutiérrez with a foot on the ball, and faced Rafael Delgado's close attack with a shot that could have been a pass to Juan Manuel García very close to the goal line, but goalkeeper Enrique Bologna got in the way with his foot. Skill and efficiency in a near-goal that proved to be one of the most interesting of the match.
Two minutes earlier, in the 11th minute, the first dangerous move had occurred. Éver Banega cut off an attack in the middle of the field, lifted his head, and switched the ball to forward Carlos González , who controlled the ball on the edge of the box and fired a shot that went just wide of the crossbar. In the 30th minute, a cross by Banega from the right led to a header from defender Víctor Cuesta on the edge of the six-yard box that went just wide.
A minute later, Defensa y Justicia had their clearest chance of the first half. A great long through ball from midfielder Gutiérrez left Abiel Osorio one-on-one, who broke through the open defense and squared up to Keylor Navas ; the Costa Rican goalkeeper reduced the chance in time and controlled the low, cross-shot. El Halcón came close again three minutes later, when Lucas González 's shot from the edge of the box was deflected by Navas and the rebound fell to Francisco González ; the winger attempted a low shot at the far post, but the goalkeeper again saved.
With so many risky plays, the scoreboard did move quickly. In the 38th minute, Luciano Herrera backheeled a run from defender Alejo Montero , whose cross from the right flank struck a defender. The rebound fell to Herrera himself, who hooked it with a left-footed volley that curled in just off the post, leaving Bologna unable to prevent the goal.
After the break, La Lepra got the Halcón off the hook and made it even tougher for them to qualify. In the second minute of the final period, forward García broke down the right and crossed to the far post, leading to a save by Maroni. The former Boca Juniors striker had two chances to score against a passive defense; his first header was blocked by Bologna, but the ball came back to him, and on his second attempt, he made no mistake: the ball sailed over the goalkeeper, who managed to touch it, and with the 2-0 goal, he atoned for the bitter taste of that unfair outcome with his great first-half play.
Cristian Fabbiani's team could have scored their third goal in the tenth minute when González went one-on-one with the goalkeeper on the left side of the penalty area, but his low shot to the far post was saved by the keeper.
In the statistics, Newell's wasn't ahead of Defensa y Justicia except on the scoreboard, but they created the clearest chances and scored both goals. This earned them a place in the next round, where they will face the winner of Belgrano (Córdoba) vs. Defensores de Belgrano in pursuit of a spot in the quarterfinals.
Find live soccer scores, upcoming matches, standings, and all the stats from the world's major tournaments.
lanacion
%3Aformat(jpg)%3Aquality(99)%3Awatermark(f.elconfidencial.com%2Ffile%2Fbae%2Feea%2Ffde%2Fbaeeeafde1b3229287b0c008f7602058.png%2C0%2C275%2C1)%2Ff.elconfidencial.com%2Foriginal%2F0d9%2Ff97%2F761%2F0d9f97761638570851db942e62c9c237.jpg&w=3840&q=100)