Buenos Aires, Nov 25: Boca tied with Quilmes, San Lorenzo defeated Banfield and Chacarita defeated River Plate 1-0 in Argentina soccer.
Boca Juniors, still missing injured teenage inspiration Carlos Tevez, had their lead cut to five points over San Lorenzo after they were held to a scoreless draw at home by newly-promoted Quilmes in Buenos Aires on Sunday (November 23). Leandro Benitez struck the post for the visitors in the first half and Boca defender Rolando Schiavi was also frustrated by the woodwork after the break.
Fortune smiled on San Lorenzo, who have three games left to close the gap on Boca, as a Damian Gimenez own goal gifted them a 1-0 win over Banfield. Chacarita Juniors edged River Plate 1-0 off an opening-minute corner kick by Roberto Pompei. The shot surprised River goalie German Lux, who tried but failed to bat the ball away with his hand.


River Plate played most of the game with its second string as some of its biggest stars rested for a semifinal encounter against Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the Copa Sudamericana tournament. Desperate to fight back, River coach Manuel Pelegrini sent star forward Maximilian Lopez on field in the second period in hopes of an equalizer. But River's attempts to score faltered despite several powerful shots from midfield that Chacarita's goalkeeper blocked.


LINE UP: Boca: Roberto Abbondanzieri; Luis Perea, Rolando Schiavi, Nicols Burdisso, Jos Mara Calvo; Matas Donnet, Ral Cascini, Sebastin Battaglia, Diego Cagna; Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Pedro Iarley. Coach: Carlos Bianchi.


Quilmes: Marcelo Pontiroli; Danilo Gerlo, Agustn Alayes, Juan Manuel Herbella, Ral Saavedra; Pablo Garnier, Rodrigo Braa, Rodrigo Melndez, Leandro Bentez; Ariel Lopez and Patricio Camps. Coach: Gustavo Alfaro.


San Lorenzo: Jos Fabin Ramrez; Aldo Paredes, Diego Capria, Claudio Morel Rodrguez, Celso Esquivel; Patricio Ormazbal, Pablo Michelini, Jonathan Santana; Damin Luna; Ariel Carreo and Alberto Federico Acosta. Coach: Nstor Ral Gorosito.


Banfield: Enzo Noce; Julio Barraza, Fernando Ortiz, Javier Sanguinetti, Jorge Nez; Adrin Gonzlez, Pablo Fernndez, Damin Gimnez, Jos Luis Snchez; Jorge Cervera and Eduardo Bustos Montoya. Coach: Julio Csar Falcioni.


Chacarita: Carlos Navarro Montoya; Sebastin Pena, Claudio Arzeno, Juan Manuel Azconzbal; Luciano Precone; Diego Rivero, Ernesto Pedernera, Mariano Mignini; Roberto Pompei; Cristian Milla and Claudio Graf. Coach: Nstor Craviotto.


River: Germn Lux; Luis Lobo, Cristian Tula, Pablo Frontini, Ricardo Rojas; Eduardo Coudet, Oscar Ahumada, Ren Lima; Daniel Montenegro, Daniel Luduea; Federico Almerares. Coach: Manuel Pellegrini.


Bureau Report