Global Courant
The team led by Florencia Quiñónes won 1-0 at the Independiente stadium and won the title.
Boca Juniors renewed the title of AFA Women’s Champion, after beating UAI Urquiza 1-0 in a tiebreaker final that was played tonight before 3,500 people at the Libertadores de América-Ricardo Enrique Bochini stadium in Avellaneda.
With a header from Estefanía Palomar at 11 minutes, the “Gladiadoras” repeated the consecration as it had happened in September last year against the same rivals in La Bombonera.
Boca reinforced its status as the winningest club in women’s soccer in Argentina with the star number 27, third in a row. Very distant, in the honor roll, they are followed by River Plate (11 titles), UAI Urquiza (5) and San Lorenzo (3).
This game, witnessed in the box by the president of AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, was established by the parity of both teams at the end of the First Division Championship. In 19 dates, Boca and the UAI were paired in 48 units with a campaign of 15 wins, three draws and one loss.
Villa Lynch’s “Guerreras” came within reach of the tiebreaker on the penultimate date when they beat Boca (1-0) at home, a goal they were far from repeating on the Independiente court.
The “Gladiadoras” reached the achievement of the hand of Florencia Quiñones, ex-soccer player “xeneize”, who took charge of the squad last April after the displacement of Jorge Martínez, denounced for sexual abuse.
The final was a closed process until a rude defensive error by the UAI made it possible to open the scoring. A failed closing by Paula De la Serna was followed by a false start by goalkeeper Sofía Olivera, Andrea Ojeda recovered the ball against the end line and sent a cross that Palomar connected with the net in the six-yard box.
Far from settling, Boca grew from the goal and forced the development of the game in the UAI field with effective pressure from its midfielders. On the flanks, with the speed of Brisa Priori on the right and the projection of Celeste Dos Santos on the left, she created spaces to throw the ball into the area and expose the weakness of the rival defensive line.
The “Gladiadoras” dominance was clear, however, there were no clear situations to increase the score until 43 minutes when the defender Noelia Espíndola crashed a left-footed shot into the post after picking up a ball at the exit of the area.
This action was immediate at the restart of the game after the departure of the Venezuelan central defender of the UAI Idanis Mendoza, removed on a stretcher from the field with a head injury due to an involuntary blow from Palomar when he threw himself to the ground to recover a ball.
In the second half, the “Guerreras” vigorously rebelled against the control exercised by Boca in the first half and the game became more acrimonious. As a result, they arranged two free kicks close to Laurina Oliveros’s goal but neither was in danger.
Out of necessity, the UAI brought their lines forward and the game evened out, also because those led by Florencia Quiñones chose to keep the advantage rather than seek the second goal as the clock approached 90 minutes.
Boca’s attacks, then, were more careful, without defensive imbalances and looking for the stopped ball to avoid blow by blow. UAI could only insinuate with mid-distance shots from the entered Bianca Recanati and the “xeneizes” were finally able to repeat the habit of crowning.
Women’s football in Argentina will go on hiatus until after the FIFA World Cup, which will be played in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 with the participation of the Argentine national team led by Germán Portanova and who will share Group G with Italy , South Africa and Sweden.
