River Plate vs Belgrano de Cordoba: tonight, 7pm UK time

It's the end of the Argentine season and this promotion/relegation playoff has the potential to be something either extraordinary or quite horrible.

The backstory is that River are Argentina's most prestigious club and have never been out of the top division in 110 years. Belgrano are a relatively small club from the provinces, but in excellent form.

Relegation in Argentina is decided by a rolling three-year average, a system something like the Uefa coefficient table for national leagues. River had two woeful seasons in 2009 and 2010, but had turned things round this year, until they got the fear midway through and resorted to kneejerk changes, defensive tactics and bad morale. The resulting collapse in form was just enough to edge their average down and drop them into the relegation playoff.

The first leg was in Cordoba in midweek. It was pretty disastrous for River Plate. Belgrano took a two-nil lead and by all accounts were on the brink of dishing out a hiding, when River's own fans cut the fences and invaded the pitch to try to batter some sense into their own players - with some success apparently, reports saying that the twenty-minute gap to restore order stemmed the tide.

Belgrano still won 2-0 though, so River have to match that or better tonight in the home leg or they're down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9fCmAinIaU

The timing's not ideal, but it's clearly a significant event and thought it worth a bit of attention. If I'm free and can find coverage I'll be watching.

Watching this. Well second half probably.State of emergency time I think.

So the 7pm UK time is incorrect?

River need to get back on level terms in the return leg at the Monumental on Sunday and will survive with an aggregate draw as the result favours first division sides.

what?? jeez.

My best guess. I know it's 3pm kickoff locally and i think Argentina's currently 4hrs ahead.

4hrs behind, I meant

Diego Buonanotte was River's best player, and signed terms with Malaga back in January for 2011/12. The monumental piece of foot shooting is by whoever at River agreed to let him go a few weeks early, so he won't be playing.

Belgrano have the ball in the net on 4', but *marginally* offside. River go up and take the lead on 5'. 1-0.

It's notable how often players are taking on the man or men, when they only have eighteen inches of space to work with. The European game isn't like this.

explains why a tightly-organised small portuguese outfit could go all the way in the 1500's tho

the ref is getting lynched if they don't win this.

cant watch but sounds like a serious atmosphere

he didn't give a fairly clear penalty to river, or, in a different incident, a fairly clear second yellow to a belgrano player.

river look like scoring, but i wouldn't put any money on them staying up.

Commentators on my stream really giving it the full Caruso Caruso Caruso Caruso Caruso Caruso Caruso Caruso Carusooooooooooooo treatment.

Nicely poised for the 2nd half. Defensive nerves much on view.

watching argentinian minnows, river obv not minnows historically but are at the moment, is a lot like watching chilean football. some of the tackles are fairly hilarious, really love getting the boot into a man a few seconds after the ball has gone.

minnows: river-plate correct chronological process iirc

i'm pretty ambivalent here, i do sort of want to see an epic riot, although i'm worried my stream will cut out after the game finishes in any case, also worried that people would probably die, but on the other hand river plate is my favourite argentinian team, and my favourite ever cult hero footballer enzo francescoli played for them.

Fuck, what a miss!

I'd've thought you might see both outcomes, actually xp

that miss was an absolute stinker.

one on one and it was like he hit "lob" instead of "shoot".

although i'm worried my stream will cut out after the game finishes in any case, also worried that people would probably die

I like the order of priority here

Ha xp, makes me think that iffy reffing doesn't really matter, this is going to come down to some moment of comedy ineptitude

Oof

now there is some comedy ineptitude

oh fuck.

if lj ever gets done for a crime he should be exiled to south america and made to join a barra brava/torcida. imagine him watching this kind of defensive play week in week out.

Okay, so do River now need 2 or 3?

afaik they just need to draw on aggregate. so back to 2.

most pressurest penalty ever

camera directors really earn their corn here compared to england

smashcutting from crowd to a match to one single agonized face unbearably close up and back again

lol they even did GOAL-FACE-GOAL-FACE with the one same poor dude

jobsworth's pen imo but fair enough

evened it out from the first half i suppose.

Save! Laughing out loud!

god i'm terrified for this dude

OH NO

le pegó mal! le pegó maaaal!

He absolutely cunted it tbf, and somehow it was a clean catch

Argh ffs my stream got cut just as the pen was taken.

weeping rioters on view now

water cannons!

Weeping players too. Don't give up lads! There's still injury time.

Or is there? Has the ref blown?

ref hasnt blown up yet has he? they look like theyre doing interviews on the pitch

Belgrano players looking terrified

I think he has. Jim?

haha just everyone in tears both sides

ref didn't blow, they stopped the game because of the incidents, and staright away the commentators said that they wouldn't be restarting it, as it was too near the end. it's over.

straight even

and he did blow, but not for full time, but it won't be restarted.

Is the upper tier on fire?!

security covering river players more than belgrano, the fans would go for their own players, there's plenty of police and the troublemakers are few (according to commentators).

i didn't see any fire, was typing that post, but the expectation is they will fucking wreck the joint if they can.

Last action was about 43:30, so I guess the comeback probably wasn't on anyway.

belgrano players have already run down the tunnel (under a hail of missles)

Not a fire lol, it was just sunset visible through the exits.

so the river lads just have to stand in a tearful huddle surrounded by a battalion of police til everyone leaves right?

no ok the whole phalanx is moving now

I do feel for them, every decision I assumed would normally fall their way didn't (except the first Belgrano goal I guess)

errr blimey i only just found out monaco got relegated as well

Anyway, footy hasn't entertained me like that in forever.

that was historic stuff there, tingle down my spine and everything.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cn23tv

watch malarkey outside the stadium live

3 police wounded, one had to be transported away in helicopter.

cars burnt on the avenida del liberatador, one of the main streets.

confiteria (which to me is like cake shop, tea room) inside the stadium set on fire.

such dramatic news music!

aye, think i'm going to turn off in a bit, definitely suffering from the 24 hour news effect. let's point cameras at something and hope something happens, and extemporise pish over it.

in the meantime, late drama in ballyheane as dmac bundles home late winner for council vs tesco.