River Plate’s Teófilo Gutiérrez, who missed a penalty, leaves the field.
Teófilo Gutiérrez misses penalty in second half
Coach Ramón Díaz will have a lot of work to do as his River Plate had another disappointing performance yesterday when it drew 0-0 at home with Belgrano.Colombian striker Teófilo Gutiérrez missed a penalty in the second half.
River Plate, far from the top of the standings, continued with its disappointing season yesterday, unable to break the 0-0 draw against Belgrano at the Monumental stadium in a match for the 12th round of the Initial Tournament.
The team coached by Ramón Díaz — which accumulated three matches without victories and without scoring a goal— had a clear chance to get the three points in the 49th minute with a penalty, but Colombian striker Teófilo Gutiérrez’s shot went wide.
Before and after the penalty, the host had more possession of the ball and tried to create chances to score. However, the players failed to turn the possession into goals.
Belgrano played with a counter-attack style and had a clear opportunity to upset its rival when César “Picante” Pereyra left Ezequiel “Lechuga” Maggiolo unmarked inside the box with a pass, but River goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero blocked the former Estudiantes de La Plata striker’s shot.
River is 13th in the championship standings with 15 points, but it is also currently competing in the South American Cup. Díaz’s side will face Lanús in the quarterfinals of the international tournament.
Meanwhile, Belgrano accumulates two games without victories and is in 10th place with 16 points. Leader Newell’s Old Boys has 26.
Belgrano defeated River in a promotion-relegation playoff in 2011 and sent the club from Núñez to the National B Division for the first time in its history.
Yesterday, River played with: Barovero; Gabriel Mercado, Germán Pezzella, Éder Álvarez Balanta, Ramiro Funes Mori; Carlos Carbonero, Leonardo Ponzio, Ariel Rojas; Jonathan Fabbro; Rodrigo Mora and Gutiérrez.
Belgrano’s team was: Sebastián Blázquez; Pier Barrios, Luciano Lollo, Lucas Aveldaño, Federico Álvarez; Guillermo Farré, Lucas Pittinari, Esteban González, Jorge Velázquez; Fernando Márquez and Pereyra.
Herald with agencies