Barracas Central, at the Copa Libertadores Futsal: great goals, controversies and penalties in a dramatic final against Boca in the National League

Great goals, controversies and a heart-pounding penalty. All this was given away this Sunday by the final of Argentine national futsal league (LNFA) 2023, which consecrated for the third consecutive time a Central Barracksafter passing Mouth 3-2 on penalties, after having drawn 3-3 in regulation time and 1-1 in extra time, giving the extra ranking prize to the Copa Libertadores 2024next to Saint Lawrence.

El Guapo was able to recover three times the advantage of Xeneize – who he had eliminated in the semi-final on August 17th -, which brought them to 3-1 with seven minutes left, then to 4-3 in extra time and could have even taken advantage of it Barraca’s team failed first in the penalty shootout.

But those led by Ignacio Caviglia, who took over Olavarría and Luna’s team this season, gave a remarkable demonstration of character. Because with the use of the goalkeeper-player they achieve the 3-3 which starts extra time, where seven seconds from the end they find the decisive equalizer thanks to Sergio Nieto.

In the penalties, Boca missed three. Two were deflected and the last one was saved by Nicolás Kravetzky, a goalkeeper who is usually called up to the Argentine national team and who is one of the fundamental legs of Barracas Central, who in the semi-final had beaten 8-1 against Saint Lawrence.

The match was not free from refereeing controversy, because the reds Franco Pedrazzini in Guapo e Ezequiel Ramírez of Boca – both for double yellows – were decisive in the development of the match played at the Malvinas Argentinas microstadium of the Argentinos Juniors.

The vibrant build-up to the National Futsal League final

It was a vibrant match from start to finish. Fontanella opened the scoring for the player from Barraca at the start of the match, but he was unable to sustain the result and at the end of the first half Boca Juniors turned the situation around with goals from Juan Pablo Cuello AND Juan Brasesco.

At the beginning of the second half Cuello widens the gap again and it seems that the match is resolved. However, Barracas entered the match and overcame Facundo Fontanella AND Alejo Gayraudhe got the equalizer, taking the match to extra time.

Once again it was Juan Pablo Cuello who gave Xeneize the lead, after a nice individual play from Franco Martínez Riveras, at the end of the first half.

From then on all attempts were made by Barracas who, with an almost permanent player-goalkeeper, reached the equalizer with 7 seconds left when he had an extra player due to Ramírez’s sending off at Boca. Sergio Nieto was the author of the conquest.

The rest has already been told: Kravetzky converted his penalty and saved the decisive one to unleash the madness of Barracas Central, who will definitively retain the trophy for having obtained it three times.

The complete match