Ball-juggling blunder costs San Lorenzo dear
Reuters - Wednesday 14 May 2008, 16:53
Claudio Bieler capitalised on San Lorenzo goalkeeper's Agustin Orion ball-juggling blunder to grab a 1-1 draw for Ecuadorean champions LDU in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup quarter-final on Thursday.
In Thursday's other tie, forward Salvador Cabanas scored twice to give Mexico's America a 2-0 win at home to Santos.
San Lorenzo are the only one of Argentina's big five clubs never to have won the Libertadores and are hoping to break their duck in their Centenary year.
Last week, they produced a stunning comeback when they fought back from 2-0 behind with nine men to draw 2-2 with compatriots River Plate and qualify on aggregate.
Ramon Diaz's team made an impressive start on Thursday with Gonzalo Bergessio hitting the post in the 15th minute, but they allowed LDU to grab a potentially decisive away goal in the 36th minute.
San Lorenzo defender Gaston Aguirre passed the ball back to Orion, who flicked it up and juggled with it but then lost control, which allowed LDU's Bieler to touch it into the goal.
Adrian Gonzalez curled a 30-metre free kick into the top right-hand corner to equalise for San Lorenzo three minutes later and while they pressed in the second half, LDU goalkeeper Jose Cevallos made several good saves to deny the home side.
Diaz was confident his team, who also came from 2-0 behind to beat Real Potosi 3-2 at extreme altitude in the group stage, could pull off another come back.
"We did it once against Potosi, we did it again against River and we can do it for a third time," he said.
America followed up last week's stunning 3-0 win away to Flamengo by beating Santos, another Brazilian side, 2-0 in front of 90,000 fans at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City.
Cabanas, who scored twice against Flamengo, put America ahead in the 24th minute, chesting the ball down and scoring with a shot that went between the legs of goalkeeper Fabio Costa and a defender on the line.
The barrel-chested Paraguayan international grabbed a second in the 72nd minute when he broke free of the Santos defence to latch onto German Villa's crossfield pass in his stride and placed his shot wide of Costa.
Santos forward Kleber Pereira had a goal disallowed for offside in the 89th minute although replays suggested he was in a good position.
By Brian Homewood
Editing by Greg Stutchbury