the cycle of Abel Balbus in front of Central Cordoba of Santiago del Estero It started with the best omens. After having defeated Rosario Central 3-0 as a visitor (after the defeat against Racing in their debut), beat Defense and Justice this Monday at home by 1-0 and took a four-point lead over Aldosivi (98-94), the penultimate in the table of averages. The Uruguayan Renzo López, at 11 minutes of the second half, scored the only goal of the game played at the unusual time of 11 in the morning, after the municipal elections held on Sunday throughout the province.
Already in the first stage, López had had the opportunity to break the zero after 10 minutes with a good appearance at the far post after a cross from the right by Paraguayan side Iván Ramírez. But the goal was annulled by referee Jorge Baliño, at the request of the VAR, due to a slight forward position of the striker, who had his torso slightly tilted forward at the time of the pass. In the second half, the protagonists were repeated: Ramírez issued a straight ball behind the central Defense markers, López dived diagonally, eluded goalkeeper Unsain and scored with an empty goal. Uruguayan López, 28, has ten goals in 21 games and has already renewed his contract until 2025 with the Santiago club.
Defense never found solutions in the attack with Fontana and “Uvita” Fernández and ended with an improvised double nine with Lucas Albertengo and right back Tripichio. Florencio Varela’s team continues to suffer from the sale of all its forwards (Bou, Merentiel, Pizzini and Rotondi left) and he also did not have central defender Adonis Frías on the pitch, sold to Boca last week. With much less than at the end of 2021, when he was River’s runner-up, despite the defeat after three dates (two wins and one draw), he remains in the Copa Sudamericana qualifying zone in the annual table.
