The fans arrive with the repellent in their hands, but mosquitoes don’t bite as much as Riestra on the forest grass. And that tie that is drawn under the gray sky of La Plata hurts like a welt because Gimnasia had been much more.
Until Leonardo Madelón does a key change, despite the murmurs that flow in the stands. Yonatán Rodríguez leaves, the driving force of the team in the midst of the confusion that the 1 to 1 had generated, and David Zalazar enters. A minute later, the newcomer launches a magnificent cross that Eric Ramírez, as a palomita, scores the goal and the victory of the team. Lobowhich clings to a minimal illusion to reach the quarterfinals of the League Cup. With two headers, one in each half.
Two experienced players with international pasts showed him the way to Gimnasia. Pablo De Blasis (36 years old) and Luciano Castro (34), who knew how to play for a decade in Europe, were in charge of giving clarity to the team in the middle of a show of great balls. And when Ignacio Arce began to transform into the figure of La Plata, the goal arrived that opened the account and fueled the hope of the fans who took over this stadium.
It was from a corner kick that Gimnasia forced thanks to a left-footed shot from Yonatán Rodríguez that Arce blocked with a changed hand, according to the old reporters. De Blasis played short, Benjamín Domínguez returned and the “10” executed a barbaric cross that Leonardo Morales anticipated in the heart of the area. This time, the visiting number one could do nothing.
Until that moment, the La Plata team had been slightly superior. Aboard a 4-4-2, he began to stop hitting long balls for Eric Ramírez and Franco Troyanski, and De Blasis and Castro got involved – especially – in the game.
Before the goal, Ramírez had two clear situations in which Castro participated. First, the Pata He assisted with a long pass that La Perla defined in a hurry before Arce came out, looking for a lob over the goalkeeper’s head, but his shot was lost next to the right post. Afterwards, De Blasis sent a past cross that the veteran midfielder lowered and the Entre Ríos’ shot found a sensational response from the goalkeeper.
Riestra showed his usual repertoire. Also with a classic scheme, he prioritized order, friction, intensity on the mark and tried to hurt on the counterattack with long deliveries to Jonathan Herrera and Nahuel Benegas, the big men of the attack. He forced with the power of his forwards and when Gimnasia left some space, but he did not generate dangerous situations that could compromise Nelson Insfrán. He didn’t even take advantage of the dead ball, one of his strengths.
In the second half, Riestra pushed with a more aggressive attitude. Cristian Fabbiani dispensed with a winger and added another forward, Mauro Ortiz. Arce blocked a free kick by Ortiz that could have stretched Gimnasia’s lead, but the visiting team had a scorer in their ranks and Herrera resolved with class. Between two rivals, He stuck it in the corner.
Gimnasia reacted quickly. He turned the game on the left with Benjamín Domínguez. Until Madelón moved the bench and Ramírez shouted victory. Only in the last breath did Riestra come close to tying with a beautiful shot from Leonardo Landriel. It was a spasm. El Lobo played better, won again at home and aspires to continue in the race.