With three goals in the second half, thanks to the saving appearance of Adrian Martinez, Racing beat San Martín de Burzaco 3 to 0at the beginning of his adventure through Argentine Cupa tournament that historically usually brings more headaches than joy to the Academy.
Lanús, Belgrano, Sarmiento and Defensa y Justicia – which lost 2-1 on Thursday with Atlético de Rafaela – are some of those who can attest that the Argentine Cup always puts the First Division teams on the brink of the precipice. Beyond the fact that by its nature it is a double-edged sword, coaches take it as a test bed. This is accentuated in a calendar like that of 2024 for Argentine soccer: between January 27 and March 15, Racing played eleven dates. That is, one match every 4.36 days. Too much, even for a squad that added a dozen reinforcements.
For this reason, among the 11 that Gustavo Costas lined up there were several names to put the magnifying glass on. In the arch, the debut of Facundo Cambeses, which it fulfilled in the few that tried it. In essence, the presentation of Marco Di Cesare, good performance. On the left side, the appearance of the youth Ignacio Galván, who was injured at the end of the first half. To make matters worse, his replacement Rojas asked for the change a few minutes later. In midfield, the flashes fell on Baltasar Rodríguez. The one born in Monte Hermoso was the captain of the team, but he did not play a role in the game. Up front, the news was in the wines: on the one hand, Agustín Urzi, in his first time as a starter; of the other, Johan Carbonero, the Colombian who since his serious injury at the end of 2022 was never able to recover his level. Urzi missed his chance, but the Colombian scored a great goal that could serve as a springboard to recover his level: during the celebration he kissed his left knee.
After a weak first half, with a failed penalty that goalkeeper Maldonado saved from Santiago Sosa, the Academy had to play a difficult second half. Costas pocketed the evidence and sent Adrián Martínez to the field. Maravilla, once again, lived up to his nickname: in eleven minutes he converted to put Racing ahead and leave everything calm. The good news was the goals from Carbonero and Maximiliano Salas. The left-hander had shown a good level since his arrival, but he had not screamed yet. That’s why the bad energy was brought out in the celebration.
An old story remains in it. That of Racing and the penalties. A curse that has haunted him since October 2022, when from the 12 steps he had the opportunity to become champion against River. That afternoon, surprisingly, the responsibility fell on Jonathan Galván, after a long discussion. Galván defined softly and Franco Amani saved. The passage of time does not seem to heal that wound. In 2023, Racing suffered two strong blows in penalty shootouts: for the Copa Libertadores, against Boca, and against Rosario Central, for the League Cup.
In 2024, he had two penalties in his favor. Against Sarmiento, at home, on matchday 9 of the League Cup: at the end of the match, goalkeeper Fernando Monetti won the duel against Juan Fernando Quintero and those from Junín took the victory. Now, against San Martín de Burzaco, he had the chance to take the lead in the last play of the first half. As in that Galván scene, there was an assembly before the execution: Rojas, Baltasar, Salas and Santiago Sosa participated. It was the former River midfielder who kicked, to the left of the goalkeeper, at mid-height. Lautaro Maldonado dressed as a hero and flew to cover the shot. This time, he was left only as an anecdote.