Newell’s Old Boys lost their grip on a qualification spot and went out of the Copa Binance on Sunday evening after a 3-1 defeat away to Gimnasia.
The game ended what was a very positive season under coach Javier Sanguinetti that ultimately fizzled out with defeats to San Lorenzo & Gimnasia in recent weeks.
Things looked positive after just one minute in this game when captain Pablo Pérez put La Lepra ahead, meeting a Nico Castro pass inside the box and firing past goalkeeper Rodrigo Rey in the home net.
Gimnasia came roaring back after 17 minutes with Erik Ramírez equalising from close-range and the La Plata team really took control from then on. Despite the game being tied 1-1 at half-time, Gimnasia were 3-1 up within ten minutes of the second-half starting, Ramón Sosa blitzing Newell’s with a quickfire double. Goalscorer and captain Pablo Pérez was expelled before the hour mark after losing his head completely.
Newell’s were handed a lifeline with 10 minutes left when a red card handed out to Gimnasia’s Francisco Gerometta made the game 10 v 10 but there wasn’t enough time left for Newell’s to score the two goals needed to qualify.
After such a strong campaign when compared with previous seasons, Newell’s have something to build on for this year’s regular league season but Javier Sanguinetti will be hugely disappointed that his team couldn’t win the point needed in the final match to progress to the final stages of the Copa Binance.
Watch the highlights of the match below.
