FRIENDLY
Unión 0
Newell’s Old Boys 1
🏟️ Estadio 15 de Abril, Santa Fe
Newell’s Old Boys were the victors in an 80-minute friendly against Unión in Santa Fe on Friday night (16 October).
Without the attacking threat of Ignacio Scocco, who pulled out of the game with a minor muscle issue, Newell’s had to rely on a good old fashioned set-piece to win the game.
8 minutes into the second half, Mariano Bíttolo’s free-kick was met by defender Fabricio Fontanini and his header was low and on-target, bouncing off the ground before hitting the back of the net.
Alan Aguerre had to make some fine saves to stop Unión getting anything from the game but the defensive partnership of Santiago Gentiletti and Fontanini, along with Jéronimo Cacciabue in the holding role, held strong throughout to nullify the opposition attack.
The game was a repeat of the friendly which ended 1-1 three weeks ago at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa.
Newell’s are set to participate in one more friendly (reportedly against Racing Club) before competitive action resumes in Argentina.
Earlier on in the day on Friday (16 October), La Lepra found out that they had been drawn with Boca Juniors, Lanús and Talleres in the new Copa Liga Profesional de Fútbol which is set to start on the weekend of 30/31 October.
*The Newell’s Reserves could not match up to the performance of the first team in Santa Fe on Friday. In a match staged directly after the first game, they lost 5-0 to Unión Reserves in a lacklustre performance.
