Unión de Santa Fe defeated Estudiantes de La Plata 2-0, achieved its first victory in the Professional Soccer League and deepened the Pincha crisis in a match corresponding to the 6th date of the tournament.
At the 15 de Abril stadium in the city of Santa Fe, the Tatengues soccer players cleared up rumors about the continuity of their coach, the Uruguayan Gustavo Munúa, thanks to goals from Oscar Piris and Imanol Machuca in the second half.
On the opposite sidewalk, the crisis and instability of Abel Balbo increased, who also came to the match having made drastic decisions such as sending symbol players like Mariano Andújar, Mauro Boselli and José Sosa to the bank.
On the night in Santa Fe, two teams with very weak presents and many problems faced each other, for that reason the technicians took precautions. Munúa set up two lines of four and two strikers, while Balbo stood with a line of five and only one striker.
Unión took control of the match, but Estudiantes also arrived and both goalkeepers Santiago Mele and Daniel Sappa had to intervene. The Uruguayan Thiago Vecino made the Estudiantes center-backs work, while Pincha resorted to an old weapon, very traditional in City Bell: the stopped ball, by Fernando Zuqui.
After 25 minutes of the first half, both technicians, but especially Balbo, showed their disagreement with the performance of their coaches. The former Roma striker gesticulated and demanded a neat exit from his defenders from below.
In the second half, Balbo returned to the line of four and sent Pablo Piatti onto the field to achieve a greater imbalance. While Union sought to strengthen performance.
Unión had a very well executed corner kick that landed on Aued’s head, which forced a cover by Sappa, but the former Gimnasia took the rebound and scored it with the help of his teammate Oscar Piris.
The goal gave Unión security that they brought their ranks closer, but they began to play calmer, while Estudiantes began to show serious defensive disconnects. The bad moment increased when Cañete stole a ball from Zuqui and set Machuca up very well, with Unión attacking with a numerical advantage, and the midfielder got rid of a couple of defenders and defined the near post with great quality, to give him the second to the tatengues
Seconds before the 2-0 score, Balbo had arranged for the entry of the experienced Boselli and Sosa, who had to face up to a match in which their team was two goals down and with only 20 minutes remaining in the game.
In what remained, Unión showed poise, but Estudiantes created situations in which Boselli caused more risk than Mauro Méndez and Matías Godoy, the starting forwards chosen by Balbo.