by Less than two minutes of play were enough to change the face of the Belgrano fan. Ulises Sánchez’s free kick, executed ‘as with the hand’ in search of the goalscorer Pablo Vegetti, was too much for the Vélez defense and gave Pirata the early lead. The captain headed the Uruguayan Diego Godín at the near post and hit a header that was unattackable by goalkeeper ‘Chila’ Gómez. To something else.
The 1-0 was a balm for the spirits of the people, who had arrived at the Giant with the uncertainty generated by the misstep the previous weekend, and also for Guillermo Farré’s team. The premature celebration not only scared away some ghosts, it also aligned the planets towards the game procedure that is most convenient for ‘B’.
Vélez accused the cold blow, and it took him time to react. “Don’t set up the line of six yet!” exclaimed someone in the audience, looking towards the local bench. Clear allusion to the custom of the Belgranense DT of rearranging the pieces with pragmatism, depending on how the result comes.
“The premature partying not only chased away some ghosts, it also aligned the planets to the game path that’s most convenient for B.”
As if to contradict the irony, Belgrano maintained his initial position and also the initiative. Well planted in the background, with Santiago Longo managing the midfield times (the ‘5’ also made a very good attempt from mid-distance) and an inspired Ulises Sánchez, who made the visitor’s bottom very complicated every time he grabbed the ball.
Although the climbs of the Chilean Ibacache on the left were repeated and the party began to demand that Bruno Zapelli convert from midfielder to fifth midfielder, supremacy continued to be local. Velez? Little and nothing. To such an extent that his coach, Ricardo Gareca, sent two players to warm up when just over half an hour had passed.
That was where the kids Abiel Osorio and Gianluca Prestianni were – the ‘jewel’ that Lionel Scaloni supposedly came to see in Córdoba – when Guillermo Pereira capitalized on a magical touch from Zapelli and nailed a two-way shot to increase the score and the festive atmosphere of the stadium.
HE CELEBRATED AGAIN. With a solid performance, Belgrano returned to the path of victory and put aside the concerns that his previous performance had generated. /// PHOTO: BELGRANO PRESS
smooth
An exact hour was played after Belgrano’s second goal, a lot. However, the development of the game never conveyed the feeling that victory could change hands.
The hope of a different ending was diluted when the only net chance of the visit in the first half, a shot by Osorio, ended with the ball hitting a post. For Vélez, there would be no equal. Or if. A save by Nahuel Losada at the end of the match, after an overflow by Prestianni and a shot by Santiago Castro, another promising youth.
In the plugin, Belgrano played the game he knows how to play best. He rearranged the pieces to take more precautions and avoid surprises (Iván Ramírez for Zapelli was the ‘test case’) and bet on collective dedication, Sánchez’s talent and everything that Vegetti generates near the rival area.
A couple of distant shots from Ulises were the clearest for ‘B’, in a match that as the minutes went by was filled with friction and moving emotions away from the goals.
“Game development never conveyed the feeling that victory could change hands.”
Belgrano ended up winning it well, from end to end and without surprises. Vélez, who added his tenth game without victories, left a pale image in football and worrying in attitude.
Prestianni showed some ‘chiches’ and also some ‘terrible child’ gestures (he argued with his teammates, with his rivals and even with Farré) that can play against him. He ratified his nickname of ‘jewel’, it is true. Although yesterday in Alberdi the brightness had another proper name. And he chanted the rostrum: “Ulysses, Ulysses.”
ONCE GOALS. Add Pablo Vegetti, the captain of Belgrano, in the Professional League Tournament. The Pirata striker goes ‘stick and stick’ with the albiazul Michael Santos. /// PHOTO: BELGRANO PRESS
Summary of the party
Belgrano (2): Nahuel Losada; Juan Barinaga, Alejandro Rébola, Nicolás Meriano and Matías Ibacache; Guillermo Pereira, Santiago Longo, Ulises Sánchez and Ibrahim Hesar; Bruno Zapelli; Pablo Vegetatti. DT: Guillermo Farre.
Velez (0): Gaston Gomez; Tomás Guidara, Diego Godín, Miguel Brizuela and Francisco Ortega; Damián Fernández, José Florentín, Christian Ordoñez, Elías Cabrera and Lenny Lobato; Lucas Prato. DT: Ricardo Gareca.
Goals: PT, 1m Vegetti (B); 34m Pereira (B).
Changes: PT, 35m Abiel Osorio for Damián Fernández (F) and Gianluca Prestianni for Florentín (F). ST, start, Iván Ramírez for Zapelli (B); 11m Gabriel Compagnucci for Pereira (B); 12m Julián Fernández for Cabrera (F) and Lucas Janson for Pratto (F); 17m Lucas Diarte by Ibacache (B); 23m Santiago Castro by Lobato (F); 26m Ariel Rojas for Hesar (B) and Tomás Castro for Barinaga (B).
Admonished: Hesar (B); Cabrera, Guidara (V).
Basketball court: Belgrano. Referee: Hernan Mastrangelo.
THE REVENGE OF THE ‘LUIFA’
- The presence of Ricardo Gareca did not go unnoticed at the Gigante de Alberdi, and the local fans proved it.
- The current DT from Vélez was the one who led Talleres in the remembered final against Belgrano of the 1997/98 First B Nacional, which will be 25 years old on July 5.
- That game also featured Luis Fabián Artime, at that time a striker for ‘B’ and today president of the celestial institution.
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