Pacheco was the decisive factor in the derby
At the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on Saturday, Penarol beat Nacional 1-0 to win the first of two national championship matches for Uruguay. With a goal in the first half from Antonio Pacheco, Penarol defeated Nacional and will face Nacional in the second leg on Tuesday needing just a draw to win the championship.
The veteran striker Pacheco made the difference with an early goal, canceling out Nacional’s 2-0 triumph against Penarol midweek — which ended Penarol’s 15-match undefeated record — in a game packed with more passion than football with both sides finished with nine men each.
Numerous security measures were put in place at the Centenario stadium as a result of the occurrences that took place before, during, and following that game. But because of the violence in Montevideo, which prompted a 24-hour strike by both bus and taxi companies, just 30,000 spectators showed up for the game. These firms protested on a game day specifically to prevent more people from attending the game.
The match began at a fast tempo, and Pacheco gave Penarol the lead in the 23rd minute with a superb header off of a cross from Alejandro Martinuccio.
Penarol continued to assault the Nacional goal more effectively after scoring, but they were only able to take a slim lead into halftime.
In the second session, Nacional improved, but Sebastian Sosa, the goalkeeper for Penarol, stopped three of their shots that were headed for the net.
In the last 30 minutes of the game, two players from each team were dismissed from the game.
After a protracted exodus, Penarol will win the Uruguayan title with just a draw on Tuesday.
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