The participation of San Jorge in the Federal Amateur Regional Tournament ended yesterday when it was eliminated in one of the semifinals of the North Coast zone. The team from Corrientes, which had lost the first leg 2-1, lost again against Guaraní Antonio Franco 3-1 in a match that was played on the Ferroviario stadium.
All the goals were in the second half. At 4 minutes, Nahuel Galarza put San Jorge ahead but two appearances by Cristian Barinaga (10′ and 27′) and a counterattack by Almirón (43′) turned the score around and allowed Guaraní to advance to the regional final.
A first half with a lot of intensity but far from the goals is what was seen on Sunday in Corrientes. Guaraní Antonio Franco came out to press well up and San Jorge tried to take possession of the ball in the middle of the field without success.
The high pressure made by the mission team allowed them to quickly recover the ball and approach the goal defended by Brian Aranda.
The first danger approximations corresponded to Guarani. At 6 minutes, Cristian Barinaga had a free kick from the left sector and 60 seconds later Manuel Roa took a shot from long distance.
The locals took 10 minutes to equalize the fight in the middle of the field, however their first attacking option was the ball to Guillermo Barreto so that the striker could hold the ball or distribute it to a teammate. The formula did not generate options to disturb Eduardo Flores who was not required throughout the 45 minutes.
Guaraní felt calm with the proceedings of the meeting. At 17, Barinaga again, this time entering from the right sector, took a cross shot that found Aranda well stopped.
The best of the period was seen towards the end. The visit had a great opportunity to open the scoring in the 36th minute, when after a good combination of touches, a cross from the right found Juan Rodríguez at the far post. The striker hit a header that went over the goalkeeper from Corrientes and Guillermo Ledesma took from the line.
The defender’s clearance was cut short and when Roa was preparing to shoot towards the back of the goal, Aranda arrived to clear the danger.
San Jorge also had a clear situation to convert. Francisco Sosa Ugolini, stepping into the large area, after a wall with Antonio Báez, took a shot that Rodrigo Lechner managed to cover by throwing himself forward with his feet.
The emotions came at the dawn of the second half. At 4 minutes the scoring was opened. Barreto headed a ball down for Galarza who fought back and took the ball past three defenders and pushed the ball past weak opposition from Flores.
The goal tied the series at 2 and forced shots from the penalty spot to determine the finalist, but San Jorge did not have time to settle on the field of play and Guaraní tied the game after 10 minutes.
Ignacio Valsangiácomo lowered with his chest a ball that came from his own field and left the ball served for Barinaga to take a great shot, stepping on the large area, which made Aranda’s effort sterile.
Forced to seek victory, the Corrientes team advanced on the field, of course they did so in a disorderly manner and gave up space in their defensive line.
Barinaga had the opportunity to score his second goal when Gerardo Barrientos gave Aranda a short pass, intercepted by the forward but well covered by the goalkeeper.
The experienced striker had another opportunity in the 27th minute and did not forgive. The center that Rodríguez shot from the left, exceeded the entire local defense and Barinaga, entering from the right, hit a cross shot that ended in the second conquest of his team.
The panorama ended up getting complicated for San Jorge when Barreto was expelled after 30 minutes for attacking a rival. With one player less, those led by Walter Zacarías tried to get ahead but had no clarity or “legs” to attempt the heroic and ended up giving themselves away in the background.
On the counterattack, Guaraní had several opportunities to score the third, which only reached the 43rd minute when Almirón, who had replaced Rodríguez, correctly defined a one-on-one with Aranda.
The final series concluded with a global result of 5 to 2. San Jorge, at times, played Guaraní as equals, which weighed on the hierarchy of a squad that was armed to fight for promotion.
