ROSARIO, Argentina :Newell’s Old Boys secured a 2-0 home win over Boca Juniors in the Argentine Primera Division Apertura tournament on Sunday, with goalkeeper Keylor Navas stopping a penalty from former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Edinson Cavani.
Luciano Herrera opened the scoring after five minutes, latching on to Carlos Gonzalez’s precise header. The hosts doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Luciano Lollo headed home Ever Banega’s cross.
Newell’s threatened to extend their lead minutes into the second half when Gonzalo Maroni and Carlos Gonzalez both had clear cut chances, but failed to convert.
Fernando Gago’s side struggled to find their stride, and their hopes were dashed in the 54th minute when Navas made a dramatic save from captain Cavani’s spot-kick, before keeping out Rodrigo Battaglia’s rebound.
“I was calm when the penalty was awarded because I had Keylor, he’s fantastic. I’m very happy to have him. We were far superior to Boca,” said Newell’s boss Cristian Fabbiani.
The 38-year-old goalkeeper, a former Costa Rica international, continued to impress, denying Exequiel Zeballos and Kevin Zenon as the rain poured down at the Marcelo Bielsa stadium to the delight of the home fans.
“It was a very bad game, we didn’t find situations to attack our opponents. I don’t see it as a setback because it’s a loss, we have to keep working,” Boca coach Fernando Gago told a press conference.
“We weren’t that good before and we’re not that bad now. So the work will continue. We’re still in a good position to keep fighting in the standings and fighting as high as possible,” he added.
Boca dropped to second in Group A on 23 points and host Barracas Central on Sunday. Newell’s are 11th on 11 points.
