Saturday’s draw between San Lorenzo and Rosario Central very much handed the initiative to Boca Juniors in the title race and with Sunday visitors to La Bombonera being Crucero del Norte, a side with a 100% record of losses away from home this season, Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s side could not have asked for a simpler task of extending their lead. Boca did indeed get the much needed victory but laboured to the point where the three points only came courtesy of a Gabriel Tomasini own goal.
Understandably, given the 29 league places between the sides, Boca enjoyed the majority of possession and chances and were gifted an incredible chance to take the lead after only six minutes. Jonathan Calleri was felled as he skipped around goalkeeper Horacio Ramírez but just as he did in the Copa Argentina, Carlos Tevez ballooned the penalty high over the crossbar.
Boca did not have to wait long though and Tevez made amends for his earlier miss with a helping hand from defender, Gabriel Tomasini. The Argentina international clipped the ball past Ramírez but found the angle to tight to tap the ball into the empty net only for the retreating Tomasini to kindly divert the ball into his own goal in a failed attempt to clear.
The home side were unable to find a second and as the game went on appeared to come increasingly disjointed. A couple of minutes into the second half, Crucero del Norte should undoubtedly have had a penalty of their own after Daniel Díaz planted a boot into the chest of Maxi Oliva. Somehow referee Jorge Vigliano missed the incident and with it, Crucero lost their best chance of salvaging something from the match.
The second goal never arrived but Boca held on for victory and with it moved ever closer to the league title. A win against Racing in the next round could in theory be enough but either way it is now Arruabarrena’s to lose. For Crucero del Norte, their brief foray into top flight football has come to an end and this weekend their inevitable relegation was confirmed.
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