Newell’s Old Boys defeated Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires over the weekend and were heavily favored coming into the first leg of their Copa Libertadores tie. While Velez won their group and have a strong squad, half of their first choice players were injured. Those who stepped into the team played brilliantly on Wednesday night, however, and found a stunning winner in Rosario to defeat Newell’s 1-0 and take a huge advantage to the second leg.
Newell’s Old Boys vs. Velez Sarsfield, 2013 Copa Libertadores: Hosts stunned in loss to injury-ravaged Velez
With a bit of luck and an unlikely goal, Velez have a massive advantage heading to the second leg, when more of their players should be healthy.
The hosts were very unlucky not to score in the first half, hitting the crossbar on two occasions. Pablo Perez had the first great chance of the game when he hit the bar in the 7th minute, and striker Ignacio Scocco did the same in the 43rd minute. Five minutes into the second half, Velez dodged another bullet thanks to Emilinao Papa, who cleared a shot from Perez off the line.
In the 63rd minute, Velez’s 18-year-old winger Augustine Allione stunned Newell’s by finishing off a counter attack to put his side ahead. The visitors created the goal with a quick end-to-end attack, and Federico Insua provided the assist after picking up the ball from Allione, who hit a shot into the roof of the net from 12 yards ater receiving the return pass.
Velez fullback Fabian Cubero was sent off in the 84th minute and Newell’s responded by piling on the pressure, but never found a goal. The hosts created plenty of scoring opportunities on the night, but were denied over and over. Between Papa’s clear, their two strikes off the crossbar and Sebastián Sosa’s eight saves, Velez can count themselves lucky to keep a clean sheet.
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