Javier Sanguinetti’s Newell’s Old Boys roared back from two defeats in a row to grab a deserved away victory at Talleres in Córdoba.
Around 6,000 away fans were allowed to attend the game and watched on as two second-half goals sealed the win despite a late ambush from Talleres that saw Federico Girotti score in the 92nd minute.
The first-half was an even game with Juanchon García and Nico Castro going close with off-target efforts. Ramiro Macagno, playing in goal for Newell’s for the first time since November, looked calm and collected and offered a degree of reassurance to a defence who witnessed new goalkeeper Iván Arboleda gift River Plate a victory at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa last week.
The deadlock was broken after 56 minutes by Newell’s number 10 Nicolás Castro who teed himself up for a shot from the edge of the box that flew straight into the net with Guido Herrera just managing the slightest of finger tips on the ball. Castro has one of the cleanest strikes in the current Primera División and he looks more likely to score than not when he gets into that position for Newell’s.
Just five minutes later, Newell’s were able to add a second after Juanchon García was hacked down in the box by Herrera having tipped the ball past the Talleres keeper. The referee didn’t hesitate to give what was a clear penalty. Cristian Lema, a former player for Talleres’ fierce rivals Belgrano, stepped up and converted the kick with a low shot into the bottom corner to the delight of the away fans.
Talleres rallied late on to try and get back into the game and might have had a penalty shout with just minutes to go when the ball seemed to strike Lema’s hand in the box. It wasn’t given but Federico Girotti did give them hope in injury-time by scoring a close-range header after Lema had performed heroics to keep a previous effort from going over the line. There wasn’t enough time for the home side to complete a late comeback and Newell’s celebrated a one-goal victory in Córdoba, bringing Javier Sanguinetti’s record to 2 wins and 2 defeats from his initial 4 games.
Watch the highlights of the match below.
