At 18:00 on the evening of August 30, with the referee's whistle, the 22nd round of the 2015 Argentinian Serie A match between River Plate and Atletico Hurricanes officially started at the Monument Stadium, the home of River Plate.
At the beginning of the game, River Plate launched a strong attack on the Hurricanes, trying to take advantage of the fact that the Hurricanes were away from home, their status was unclear, and their foothold was not stable, and they scored first.
In the 2nd minute, River Plate made a pass from the left wing from Gonzano Martinez. Center forward Moura headed the ball over, and shadow forward Biudez completed the first shot with a volley from the right rib of the penalty area. .
But Biudez's shot was interfered by center back Nervo, and the ball went over the crossbar and flew into the stands.
Although the ball did not go in, it was quite exciting to drive the attack into the Hurricanes Athletic penalty area and complete the shot in the first 2 minutes. Tens of thousands of River Plate fans in the stands burst into loud applause, encouraging the team to continue attacking.
However, it turns out that River Plate's shot was just an accidental opportunity. Next, the Hurricanes' defense, under the command of Willard, did not give River Plate such an obvious offensive opportunity.
Neither Gonzano Martinez on the left nor Carlos Sanchez on the right could get such a chance to cross the ball calmly.
Not to mention Lucho Gonzalez and the two forwards in the center. Under the joint defense of Velarde and Bismara, it is even more difficult to form an effective attack in the center.
Although River Plate is a super giant in Argentina, its overall strength is there, and its individual players are stronger than most of the Hurricanes' players.
But the Hurricanes are now ranked first in the AFC Super League and won the Copa Libertadores, relying on Velarde's super personal ability and the united defense line under Velarde's command.
As the season progresses, the defensive coordination ability of the Hurricanes has improved a lot compared to when River Plate met the Hurricanes in the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals in May.
Despite changing the goalkeeper and a main central defender, the problem is that River Plate can hardly even pass the Hurricanes midfielder, let alone threaten the Hurricanes Athletic goal.
After attacking for half an hour, except for Bioudes' shot that missed in the second minute, River Plate only completed another long-range shot that also failed to hit the door frame. The offensive effect was dismal.
On the contrary, it was the Hurricanes. In the 31st minute, Velarde used his own skills to cooperate with his teammates in passing and cutting. He dribbled the ball from the center and broke through three River Plate players in a row. Then he passed the penalty area and assisted Avila to complete a goal. He effectively grabbed the point and kicked the ball into the lower right corner of the River Plate team.
Goalkeeper Varrovero tried his best to save, but the angle of Avila's shot was too tricky. Varrovero was finally out of reach and could only watch the ball go into the net.
And Willard received another assist.
Willard is now not only the anchor of the Hurricanes' backcourt, but also the initiator of the Hurricanes' offense. He often brings the ball forward to participate in the offense, handles the ball, organizes, passes and receives, and even scores goals himself. He is omnipotent. .
The tens of thousands of River Plate fans in the stands were silent, and only the thousands of Hurricanes away fans cheered enthusiastically to celebrate the goal.
The commentators exclaimed:
"The Hurricanes are becoming more and more mature now."
"It's very difficult for even a super giant like River Plate to break through their defense."
"Although goalkeeper Marcos Dias and defender Eduardo Domingos of the Athletics Hurricanes are absent in this game, the defense of the Athletics Hurricanes is still solid."
"River Plate wants to take advantage of the fact that the Hurricanes are missing two main players in the backcourt to defeat the Hurricanes and avenge the shame of being eliminated from the Copa Libertadores. Judging from the progress and score of the game up to now, River Plate wants to avenge its past humiliation. It’s all quite difficult.”
"To be at the top of the A-League standings, 8 points ahead of the second place, and to win the Copa Libertadores, the highest honor for South American clubs, the overall strength of Atletico Hurricanes has been proven, and it is not an ordinary newly promoted team."
"Especially with Alan Willard starting, his strong and balanced personal abilities can provide strong support for the Hurricanes Athletics on both offense and defense."
"As long as Willard is on the court, no opponent can easily pass through the midfield and threaten the Hurricanes' penalty area and goal. At the same time, in the offense, Willard can also launch calmly without much pressure in the backcourt. Organize, look for the opponent’s loopholes, and pass the ball into the gaps where the opponent’s defense is weak.”
"There is no doubt that as football becomes more and more modern and more and more versatile players are needed, a player like Willard who is full of energy, good skills, fast, strong and can adapt to multiple positions in the midfield is definitely the best choice. A target that Europe’s top clubs are competing for.”
"Next year may be the time when Willard makes a name for himself in European football."
"And now, it will be the last season that we see Velarde playing in Argentina."
"Everyone should cherish it."
Amid the lamentations of the commentators, after the game restarted, the River Plate team increased their offensive intensity, hoping to take advantage of the remaining time in the first half to equalize the score and enter the halftime break with a tie.
But as the commentators said, the Hurricanes' defense, under the defense and command of Alan Willard, was as solid as a rock and did not give River Plate any decent opportunities at all.
It wasn't until the 42nd minute that River Plate's center Moura completed a threatening shot that hit the goal frame in the penalty area. However, this shot was also relatively accurate under the pressing interference of the Hurricanes defender. It was easily saved by goalkeeper Giordano, and then was kicked out of the penalty area by defender Santiago Echeberria who came back to defend.
In the end, the two sides ended the first half with a score of 0-1, and the away team Hurricane Athletic took a one-goal lead.
After a 15-minute rest, the two sides changed sides and fought again in the second half. No substitutions were made on either side. The Hurricanes continued to defend and counterattack with a 4231 formation, while the River Plate attacked aggressively with the intention of equalizing and reversing the score.
But until the end of the game, River Plate failed to score even a goal.
In the absence of the main goalkeeper and a main central defender, the Hurricanes' defense was still led by Velarde and completed an excellent clean sheet against the giant River Plate at the Monument Stadium.
However, River Plate did attack aggressively, and Willard did not have much time to participate in the attack in the second half, resulting in the Hurricanes failing to expand the score. There was also some bad luck. During one of the corner kicks, Captain Mancinelli's header hit the crossbar and bounced out.
In the end, Hurricanes beat River Plate 1-0 away from home and continued to lead the A-League standings. As the number of games remaining in the league dwindles, Hurricanes' lead will only get bigger and bigger.
Even giant clubs like River Plate failed to stop Hurricanes' winning streak at home. The probability of Hurricane Athletics winning the championship is getting higher.
What is even more surprising is that this round of league rivals San Lorenzo fell behind and was tied 0-0 by Banfield at home. The points gap has been widened by Hurricanes to 10 points.
It is a pity that Boca Juniors continued to win this round, still only 8 points behind Atletico Hurricanes.
However, with the reduction in the number of league games, as long as the Hurricanes continue to win, even if Boca does not fall behind and maintains the same point difference, it cannot prevent the Hurricanes from winning the championship.
