Sarmiento and Newell’s shared the points in Junín on Saturday evening with both teams matching each other’s efforts in front of goal.
Newell’s led twice and were the better team in the first-half. After a few half-chances and a number of off-target shots went astray, Juan Manuel García put the Lepers in front with his first goal in the red and black. Panchito González was the creator, crossing from the left while “Juanchón” got ahead of the defender to poke the ball past Ayala in the Sarmiento goal.
Despite emerging for the second-half with the advantage, Newell’s didn’t start the second period well and Sarmiento were level within 10 minutes; Toledo heading in the equaliser from close range.
The home side continued to pile on the pressure until Javier Sanguinetti’s first change of the match injected energy into a lethargic Newell’s side. Although the Junín team might have taken the lead through Brea’s free header on 61 minutes, substitute Ramiro Sordo shook things up with a dangerous run down the right and a cross that left the Sarmiento defence scrambling to clear. When they failed to deal with the danger, Juan Sforza was on hand to shoot a deflected shot into the goal to give Newell’s the lead again.
The advantage was short-lived and almost immediately after Sforza’s goal, Colombian defender Willer Ditta handled a Sarmiento cross and captain Jonatan Torres made no mistake from the spot to make it 2-2. There was to be no further goals despite some decent chances from both sides as the clock wound down.
A share of the spoils means Sarmiento shoot to the top of Zona A in the Copa de la Liga momentarily, although Newell’s are just a single point behind even though they now occupy 4th position in the standings.
Watch the highlights of the match below.
