Javier Sanguinetti’s Newell’s Old Boys made it five games unbeaten and moved into 3rd place in Zone A of the Copa Binance, level on points with 2nd-placed River Plate, after a deserved 3-1 home win over Platense on Sunday night.
Amidst a celebratory atmosphere at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa thanks to the Clásico Rosarino victory on 20 March, Juan Garro gave La Lepra the lead midway through the first-half, meeting a Nico Castro corner with his head to grab his second goal of the season.
It looked like Newell’s would go into the break with the advantage until Ignacio Schor took advantage of chaos in the home box. After losing the ball cheaply, captain Ramiro Macagno looked to have spared the home side’s blushes with a remarkable save from close-range but unfortunately it dropped kindly for Schor to slot home at the back post.
VAR was being used for the first time ever at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa and it took 4 minutes for Schor’s equaliser to be ratified. It wouldn’t be the last time it would have an influence on the match and less than 10 minutes into the second-half, it awarded Newell’s an opportunity to take the lead again.
Juan Garro, looking to get his head on another Nico Castro corner, was held by a Platense defender and the referee went to take a look at the video monitor on the sideline after the move had ended. It didn’t take Pablo Dovalo long to point to the spot after watching the incident and it was Castro who stepped up to take the spot-kick, rifling it into the bottom corner past Marcos Ledesma to the delight of the home crowd.
In the twenty minutes that followed Newell’s taking the lead, Javier Sanguinetti made 5 changes and all of them would play their part in an energetic end to the game which saw La Lepra seal the win.
The confident Marcos Portillo seemed to be involved in every attacking move in the last 15 minutes but it was forwards Nazareno Funez and Djorkaeff Reasco who linked up to put the game beyond doubt. With just over 5 minutes remaining, a long kick-out from Macagno was headed into the path of Reasco from Funez. The young Ecuadorian shrugged off a challenge from the last Platense to defender to finish in style and get off the mark in the red & black of Newell’s Old Boys.
Platense wasted chances to get more from the game, particularly through Tijanovich and substitute Braian Mansilla, so will feel like they were the victims of their own downfall. But it’s another promising result for Javier Sanguinetti who has a very confident bunch of young players at his disposal in Rosario.
Watch the highlights of the match below.
