Latin American Roundup

Rosario leads table after upsets for Boca, River

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -- Rosario Central beat archrivals Newell's Old Boys 2-0 to go top of the Argentine championship at the weekend after River Plate and Boca Juniors suffered shock defeats against teams at the foot of the table.

River coach Manuel Pellegrini blamed over-confidence as his team, who won 6-0 at Estudiantes a week ago, were beaten 2-1 at home by coach-less Huracan.

Boca lost 1-0 to Lanus, like Huracan without a win previously.

Central, under Argentina's 1978 World Cup coach Cesar Luis Menotti, beat their local rivals from Rosario for the first time in 22 years.

Striker Luciano Figueroa opened the scoring five minutes before halftime and Gustavo Arriola snatched the second in the 85th minute.

"The key was that Central used the ball better and had more possession, whereas Newell's resorted to a physical approach and crosses into the penalty area," said Menotti, known as El Flaco. "It was a very good afternoon."

Central have 15 points -- five wins and a defeat -- from six games, one ahead of Independiente who beat Velez Sarsfield 2-1.

Striker Hernan Franco scored Independiente's winner in the 82nd minute but spoiled his afternoon when he was sent off in injury time after picking up a second yellow card for time-wasting.

Independiente -- making a dramatic improvement after a dismal first half of the year -- had taken a second minute lead through Andres Silvera. Velez striker Roberto Nanni equalised on the hour.

Stunning defeat

River dropped to third after their stunning defeat.

Huracan, bottom of the table at the start of play and without a coach following Miguel Brinidisi's resignation last week, went ahead in the 26th minute through Juan Carlos Padra and added a second 10 minutes from time through Juan Carlos Padra.

Alejandro Dominguez's 82nd minute strike was too late for a team still missing winger Andres D'Alessandro with a foot injury.

"We were too confident. People had been talking about a five- or six-goal win for River," said Pellegrini, who took over in July.

"It was our worst game since I took over. We were short of aggression, movement and football."

Boca were beaten by a 22nd minute penalty converted by veteran midfielder Leo Rodriguez at Lanus.

Racing Club's match at home to Nueva Chicago was postponed because the club's stadium did not have enough security video cameras to meet safety regulations. The decision earned a stay of execution for beleaguered coach Osvaldo Ardiles, who is struggling to keep his job after three successive defeats.

Chile

Chilean stadiums were deserted at the weekend as players held firm in their decision to go on strike.

The Chilean league (ANFP) refused to recognize the strike and tried to go ahead as planned with the weekend program, forcing referees, ticket sellers, police and a handful of curious supporters to turn up at the stadiums.

The ANPF later declared the matches were suspended "due to the absence of the players."

The players are protesting over unpaid wages and to demand a bigger say in the running of the game. The strike, the second in five years to hit the country, was announced last Monday.

Colombia

Eccentric goalkeeper Rene Higuita -- famous for his daredevil forays up field -- began his latest comeback at the age of 35 on Sunday as he made his debut for modest provincial club Pereira.

Higuita, who made a brief return with Atletico Junior last year before being kicked out of the club for indiscipline, attracted an 18,000 crowd and inspired his team to a 3-1 home win over leaders Deportivo Cali.

Milton Rodriguez scored twice as Pereira ended a run of four successive home defeats.

Pasto, an unfashionable team from the south of the country, went top of the championship by beating Real Cartagena 1-0 with a Carlos Rendon penalty.

Thirteen-times champions Millonarios sank further into crisis after drawing 1-1 at home to Union Magdalena, their sixth game without a win.

Luis Zuleta gave the visitors the lead as Millonarios were subjected to non-stop abuse from the 3,000 crowd at El Campin stadium.

Johner Toro salvaged a point for the once-mighty Bogota club but his goal may not save coach Jose Hernandez from the sack when directors meet this week to discuss the situation.

Uruguay

Nacional won the first stage (Apertura) of the championship after beating archrivals Penarol 2-0 in a Montevideo derby to open up an unassailable lead over their opponents.

Nacional are four points clear of second-placed Penarol -- who had won their last six games -- with one game each left to play.

They dominated Sunday's match, took a 15th minute lead through Oscar Morales and wrapped up the game when teenage striker Horacio Peralta scored in the last minute.

The only black spot for Nacional came when their Uruguayan international defender Alejandro Lembo was sent off after clashing with Penarol's Argentine striker Daniel Jimenez in injury time.

Nacional have dropped only two points in eight games.

Ecuador

Emelec striker Otalino Tenorio performed his famous "Spider Man" celebration for the second game running at the weekend.

After opening the scoring in his team's 3-1 win over Barcelona, Tenorio repeated last week's gesture in which he put on a Spider Man mask which he had kept hidden in his shorts and danced along the touchline.

Defender Augusto Porozo scored the other two goals for the defending champions and completed an eventful afternoon by giving away the penalty from which Barcelona grabbed their consolation goal.

Emelec's win was their third in a row since Argentine Rodolfo Motta was named as their coach to replace Carlos Sevilla, who resigned after a string of poor results.

Argentine striker Carlos Juarez was sent off in injury time for elbowing an opponent.

Army club El Nacional stayed top of the second stage despite managing only a goalless draw at home to Espoli.

Bolivia

Bolivar and The Strongest played out a scoreless draw before 33,000 frustrated fans in their La Paz derby, a result which kept the former top of the championship's second stage. Bolivar lead on goal difference from surprise package Guabira, who continued their good run with a 2-0 win over Mariscal Braun.

The weekend's matches were the first since the Bolivian league announced draconian austerity measures in an attempt to save the sport from collapse in the Andean nation.

The league imposed a wage limit of $1,500 a month for players and coaches and a travel ban for referees, who can only officiate at matches in their home towns.

Peru

Estudiantes de Medicina hammered Coopsol 9-1 and jumped into second place in the Clausura, the second stage of the championship.

Argentine Gabriel Bigetti led the charge with a hat trick while his compatriot Christian Salvatierra and Milton Marquillo both scored two each.

German Munoz and Renzo Gonzalez shared the other goals and Rodrigo Saraz scored Coopsol's consolation with a penalty.

Estudiantes, based in the desert town of Ica near the famous Nazca lines, are still five points behind leaders Sporting Cristal.

The "Brewers" encountered stiff resistance from lowly Melgar but finally broke the deadlock through Carlos Zegarra one minute before halftime and Brazilian Sergio Junior completed a 2-0 win in the second half.

Universitario, who won the first stage but then had to disband their team due to financial problems, produced their best performance since their troubles, beating Deportivo Wanka 4-1 to end their opponents' unbeaten run in the second stage.

Paraguay

12 de Octubre became the latest leaders of the championship's second stage after beating Guarani 1-0 with a first-half goal by Walter Avalos.

South American champions Olimpia continued their indifferent domestic form as they scrambled a 1-1 draw away to Sportivo Luqueno despite having Juan Ramon Jara and Julio Enciso sent off in the second half.

Gaston Cordoba gave Olimpia the lead before halftime when he scored direct from a corner but Sportivo equalised through Cristian Cardozo with three minutes left.

Venezuela

Former international Stalin Rivas scored the only goal as Caracas FC beat Carabobo FC 1-0 to go top after five games. Caracas took advantage of previous leaders Nacional Tachira's 1-0 defeat against Estudiantes de Merida.

Argentine Matias Molozzi scored twice in Trujillanos' 4-1 win over UA Maracaibo, making him the competition's top scorer with five goals in as many games.

 

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