It is the opening weekend of the Primera season but already the sinister side of Argentine football has surfaced as there were reported gunshots, rocks thrown and flares lit before and during the clásico cuyano in Mendoza. Newly promoted San Martín de San Juan managed to earn a draw against Godoy Cruz but it was the incidents away from the pitch that made the headlines.

The bus of San Martín was peppered with rocks as it approached the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas but more worryingly were the bullet holes that were discovered by police. The match itself was delayed slightly as the referee was forced to clear rocks from the pitch that the Godoy Cruz supporters threw when the teams left the tunnel but eventually the match got underway.

There were few highlights during the opening thirty five minutes but when Leonel Galeano thumped a header against the underside of the bar the match came of life. Minutes later Juan Mattia felled Juan Fernando Garro in the box and Leandro Fernández tucked away the resulting penalty.

However, undeterred San Martín went in search of an equaliser and shortly after the break a towering Ramiro López header brought them level.

The game was held up once more before the end as flares lit up the ground but eventually Germán Delfino called time on the Primera’s first clásico of the season. 

Godoy Cruz  1 – 1  San Martín