BUENOS AIRES :Boca Juniors’ hopes of making a flying start to their Argentina Clausura tournament campaign were dashed in Sunday’s goalless draw with Argentinos Juniors at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Both sides shared a point from their opening clash, with Boca left to rue what was expected to be a statement performance following their disappointing Club World Cup exit in the group stage last month.
The home side set the tone early on by testing Boca’s keeper Agustin Marchesin with a Tomas Molina header, and they kept up the pressure throughout the first half with attempts from Emiliano Viveros and Federico Fattori that tested Marchesin’s skills.
After the break, Boca Juniors came close to opening the scoring when Miguel Merentiel unleashed a shot from the left side of the box, but Argentinos Juniors’ goalkeeper Diego Rodriguez thwarted him.
In the dying minutes, substitute Kevin Zenon attempted a shot from the centre of the box after a brilliant through ball from Merentiel. However, Rodriguez pulled off a fine save and the match ended goalless.
“We are Boca; we always want to win. We had clear chances; we struggled in the first half and couldn’t convert in the second,” Boca defender Marco Pellegrino said after the match.
Miguel Angel Russo’s team will be looking to improve following the return of World Cup winner Leandro Paredes from AS Roma, who was absent for their opening match. They play Club Atletico Union next on Friday.
