1:34
When two teams think more about destroying than building, what came out in that first half of extreme flatness, without dangerous situations in front of the goals and barely “shaken” by that play in which that very bad referee called Lobo Medina gave a non-existent penalty to Independiente Rivadavia which, fortunately, the VAR corrected and the referee himself corrected the error by rejecting the twelve-step shot after a completely accidental handball by Pardo, with his arm placed in a completely natural position and without space or time to prevent the center from hitting his left hand without any intention.
The match was played within an area of very little play, almost no clarity, some legs placed stronger than usual and no spaces for either of the two. Unión felt the absence of Luna Diale, they did not have football in the middle and they exaggerated the shot in the search for Orsini or Balboa, who worked complementing each other (when one went to look for the shot, the other hit him behind his back or arrived from behind to try to mount an attack that never existed).
The absolute absence of dangerous plays. And I almost dare to say about shots on goal, it made the game be played in the midst of absolute mediocrity. Therefore, as is often said, this time the 0-0 ended up clearly configuring what was a very opaque match, lackluster, permanently cut and with nothing that could excite anyone.
Unión worked with its usual solidity in the background, beyond some problems in the Vera sector that forced the permanent closure of Paz when Palacios or Ostchega turned to their sector to establish some type of partnership with Reali, which threatened to become the most dangerous forward of the Mendoza team until the visiting defenders took his hand.
In Unión, little overflow on the outside, little clarity in the handling of the ball in the middle, where neither Mauro Pittón nor Simón Riverop managed to give him the necessary amount of football and there, almost orphaned, the two forwards were left to see if they could handle it. fix with those long balls that came from the bottom.
Thus, with a lot of fighting, some strong legs on both sides and the ball generally flying through the air and not running along the ground, the match became tedious, without dangerous actions in front of the goals and, therefore, extremely boring. and with a tie as fair as it was predictable.
The second half was quite the opposite. Not because the game has improved football-wise, but because it grew in tension and also in excesses that led the bad guy Lobo Medina to send off three players, two good (Balboa and Ramis) and one bad (Bruno Pittón, because the second yellow card was excessive and unfair).
The lack of football improvement gave way to emotions and ups and downs. In Unión, Kily decided to take out Mosqueira (reprimanded) to place Del Blanco, with which Mauro Pittón (one of Unión’s best) moved to the middle and Rivero went to play on the right. Unión’s midfield grew and it was, precisely, Simón Rivero who made a filtered and millimeter pass to leave Balboa alone, who was touched by a defender, stumbled, fell and the referee sanctioned the penalty that Balboa himself took charge of. convert.
These ups and downs of the game were reflected in the expulsions, because Lobo Medina sent Ramis off for a devious kick to the detriment of Bruno Pittón, for which he had to inexplicably resort to the VAR, which showed him his mistake (he had only given her a yellow card). . And immediately, Unión had the chance to end the game with a one-on-one from Orsini that he defined with a shot that went over the crossbar.
Immediately, Bruno Pittón – who was reprimanded – could not stop himself and “took it” to a rival. The referee, with the mistaken intention of the referees to try to compensate, did not understand that the action had been totally coincidental and showed him the second yellow. They were 10 against 10 and Independiente Rivadavia began to recover. Kily had already included Roldán, he immediately changed Gamba for Orsini to bet on the counterattack and then came the inexplicable – and criticizable – action of Balboa, who in an incomprehensible way placed his hand on the face of a local player and The referee, this time correctly, kicked him off the field, leaving Unión with 10 when there was still a little while left to play (5 minutes plus the 6 added).
With perseverance, sacrifice and closing back, Unión managed to maintain the advantage and ended up winning a match in which there was more fighting than what was played. Without repeating the good game he played with Barracas Central, but with signs of being practical and effective in these games in which there are not many situations, as he had had in a good number against Barracas Central. He won well, he had defensive solidity, personality and in that framework of a fought game without spaces, he got into the mud and ended up winning well.
This good start to the championship not only allows Unión to get into the group of those who top the tournament, but also among those classified for the Sudamericana. It is reassuring and allows you to handle the transfer market with serenity beyond the fact that you still have to play the home game with San Lorenzo. Unión has a base and a style that has been refined by its coach, but with more reason it should think about giving it that hierarchy that it needs to make the leap in quality that will allow it to support this progressive improvement that it has been experiencing, especially in the results. .
