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Penarol draw 1-1 in Uruguayan derby becoming league-leaders

Xinhua, November 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Penarol drew 1-1 with Nacional in Uruguay's soccer derby on Sunday which left them as the sole leader in the Opening tournament even though their traditional rival came close to snatching the position away from Penarol. 

   Penarol, captained by forward Diego Forlan, have a total of 26 points so far with three matches still to play in the tournament which is the first phase of the 2015-2016 season. Nacional are currently two points behind their rivals with Defensor and Fenix six points behind the current leaders.

   The twelfth match in the tournament was played in Montevideo's Centenario Stadium and filled with 60 thousand fans there was a party in the stands. However, on the field it was a different story due to the lack of goals.

   Nacional, coached by Gustavo Munua, were the first to score at 43 minutes with an incredible finish by Santiago Romero from the opposing team's penalty arc.

   Spurred on with making the gap wider, Nacional dominated a large part of the second half and had various other chances to score a second goal against a Penarol that wasn't putting their heart and soul into the match. 

   However, just when Nacional thought they had won the match which would make them the leaders in the tournament, Penarol surprised everyone and got a draw in the 79th minute with a header from Matias Aguirregaray. 

   Midfielder for Penarol, Nahitan Nandez, evaluated the match as "neck and neck" and "complicated." He also highlighted that the points obtained in the match were "very important for us."

   Nacional's goalkeeper, Santiago Romero, admitted that they are leaving the match "with a lot of bitterness" because "we came to win."  Endi