In the opening match of the Apertura, Nacional managed to clinch a hard-fought win against Boston River, finishing 2-1 at the Estadio Campeones Olímpicos. The turning point came in the 60th minute when Maxi Gómez headed the ball into the net, breaking the initial deadlock. Gastón Ramírez had previously equalized for Boston River with a header at the 35-minute mark.
Just four minutes after the game was tied, Tomás Verón Lupi restored Nacional’s lead by scoring from open play in the 39th minute. Both sides had opportunities to change the scoreline, but attempts from Emiliano Ancheta and Facundo Muñoa hit the woodwork, denying Boston River any further goals.
Tomás Verón Lupi stood out as the man of the match, contributing with a goal and two shots on target for Nacional. Gastón Ramírez was also key for Boston River, netting one goal and registering two shots on goal.
Boston River’s coach, Israel Damonte, deployed a 4-5-1 formation with Bruno Antúnez in goal; Juan Manuel Acosta, Marco Mancebo, Agustín Aguirre, and Fredy Martínez in defense; Francisco Barrios, Rodrigo Amado, Franco Pérez, Facundo Muñoa, and Leandro Suhr in midfield; and Francisco Bonfiglio leading the attack.
Conversely, Nacional, under the management of Jadson Viera Castro, set up in a similar 4-5-1 formation with Luis Mejía in goal; Emiliano Ancheta, Sebastián Coates, Julian Millan, and Federico Bais in defense; Luciano Boggio, Christian Oliva, Baltasar Barcia, Tomás Verón Lupi, and Juan Cruz De Los Santos in the midfield; and Maxi Gómez up front.
Andrés Matonte was the referee who oversaw the match.
Looking ahead, Boston River will visit Danubio while Nacional will host Racing (U) at the Gran Parque Central.
After the match, Boston River is left without points and sits in 12th place in the standings, whereas Nacional collects 3 points and occupies the 5th position.
Substitutions for Boston River
66’ 2H – Francisco Bonfiglio out, Gastón Ramírez in; Leandro Suhr out, Gonzalo Reyna in; Francisco Barrios out, Alexander González in.
73’ 2H – Franco Pérez out, Marcelo Hornos in.
Yellow Cards for Boston River:
39’ 1H – Francisco Barrios (Unsporting conduct); 14’ 2H – Bruno Antúnez (Delay of game); 41’ 2H – Israel Damonte (Insulting or disapproving of the referee); 44’ 2H – Marco Mancebo (Unsporting conduct); 44’ 2H – Juan Manuel Acosta (Unsporting conduct).
Substitutions for Nacional
45’ 2H – Juan Cruz De Los Santos out, Maximiliano Silvera in; Baltasar Barcia out, Rodrigo Martínez in.
87’ 2H – Tomás Verón Lupi out, Nicolás Lodeiro in; Christian Oliva out, Lúcas Rodríguez in.
90’ 2H – Luciano Boggio out, Nicolás Rodríguez in.
Yellow Cards for Nacional:
32’ 1H – Baltasar Barcia (Unsporting conduct); 28’ 2H – Christian Oliva (Holding an opponent to prevent progress); 29’ 2H – Maximiliano Silvera (Unsporting conduct); 43’ 2H – Maxi Gómez (Holding an opponent to prevent progress).