Racing suffered to eliminate San Martín (F) in the Argentine Cup: from Arias’ mistake to Paolo Guerrero’s debut goal

The ghosts of the Argentine Cup have flown over the Chaco. The defeats with Tristán Suárez, Boca Unidos, Sarmiento de Resistencia and Agropecuario. And just the same day that two First C teams surprised Gimnasia and Newell’s. Racing could not against San Martín de Formosaby Federal A. Required two goals in the last five minutes take the 3-1 which brought him peace of mind after the mistake of Gabriel Arias and even the first goal of the Peruvian Paul Guerrero.

He had been losing since the early days of the game and lacked clarity. Until Oscar Opazo equalized at the end of the first stage. And when all roads led to penalties, five minutes from the epilogue his hierarchy flourished with a shout from Gabriel Rojas and another from Paolo Guerrero, valid at 39; He hadn’t scored since August 2021 in Brasileirao. THE Academy he qualified for 16th. final and will face the winner of the key between San Martín de Tucumán and Deportivo Morón.

Opazo’s goal restored the soul to the celestial and white body. Up until then, Racing was not only losing to a lower tier rival; he wasn’t even finding return to his game. Without depth, with an excess of centers that facilitated the task of the central defenders of Formosa and very few lightsfailed to unlock a match that had become difficult before the first minute.

So, Gabriel Arias made a big mistake, typical of those failures seen the day before in the Champions League and in command of two of the best goalkeepers in the world, Thibaut Courtois and Alisson. The man from Neuquén received from Emiliano Insúa and I doubt, he wanted to enter and received double pressure. First, by Ariel Vega; later, by Ramón Ledesma. And Oscar Chiquichano has found a gift in the heart of the area to solve with the bow at his mercy.

It was 45 seconds and the San Martín surprised in Resistencia. And almost in agreement with the city where the match was being played, the plan of the team led by Víctor Godoy was to hold on. With concentration, order and if a counterattack was possible, so much the better.

Racing had the ball, but no ideas. If Fernando Gago’s idea was to bring together players with good technique, it didn’t work because too many passes accumulated and the team wasn’t good. Gabriel Rojas projected little. And apart from the situation that led to the 1-1 draw, Opazo wasn’t thrown that much either.

THE Academy He played inside and when the ball went wide he ended up repeating himself in inaccurate aerial expeditions. Nicolás Reniero is going through a scoring crisis. He had a chance after a good combination between Edwin Cardona and Maxi Moralez, maybe one of the few times they met. The other was after a pass from the Colombian che vial could not take advantage of David Correa, who covered one on one. The Entre Ríos goalkeeper also stood out from a free-kick from Cardona. Yes, with 9 kilos less and a different attitude, even in his slowness, the man from Antioquia was the more lucid player. He understood that a circuit had to be generated.

The runs fell asleep in the second half, almost like they did at the start of the game. Jonathan Galván dropped two balls and Arias was solid this time before another strike from Chiquichano from mid-range. Until it settled down and Moralez and Cardona got back together, but Reniero made a poor decision against Correa, who covered holding hands.

So, Gago switched banks. Matías Rojas, Johan Carbonero and Paolo Guerrero entered. Later, Gabriel Hauche. And the devil Fundamental for the filtered pass of Opazo, central behind the Chilean, the ball left short by Correa and the attack of Gabriel Rojas. Then a free-kick from the other Rojas, the Paraguayan, the rebound on the post and Guerrero’s goal. And the relief for Racing, which he ended up winning by settling.