9 de Julio de Rafaela into Reválida semis, chase promotion | OneFootball

9 de Julio continues to write golden pages in its participation in the Torneo Federal A. The Lion defeated Gimnasia y Esgrima de Chivilcoy once again and, with authority, advanced to the semifinals of the Reválida, exciting the entire town of Juliense with the possibility of making the leap to the Primera Nacional.

The team of Marcelo Varela demonstrated presence, character, and effectiveness at key moments of the match. The goals by Maximiliano Ibáñez and Enzo Abondetto sealed a victory that confirms the great current form of the Rafaela team, which had already made an impact in the first leg and showed solidity in all its lines once again.

From the start, 9 de Julio made its stance clear: press high, cut off the opponent's circuits, and rely on the speed of its attackers. This is how they found the spaces to hurt a Gimnasia team forced to advance and that could never impose conditions against the intensity of the Lion.

The Lion started better, and at the first mistake, after a blunder by Robatto, the one who took advantage and did not forgive was Mariachi Ibáñez, who with all the time to finish, scored the 1-0.

The equalizer came at 25 minutes after a rebound given by Fragueda following a shot by Franco Cáceres, which Marcos Salvaggio capitalized on to score.

At 24 minutes into the second half, the game was halted due to the absence of an ambulance on the field. A local fan in the stands became unwell and was taken to a local hospital; the game could not resume until the ambulance returned.

At 57 minutes, when the game was not being played and everything was tense, Abondetto appeared to take the ball on the bounce and deliver a powerful shot that was unstoppable for Palleres, who flew but couldn't even deflect the ball.

At 62 minutes, Acuña missed a chance, failing to connect a cross-shot from Abondetto, who aimed for the goal, and the shot went wide.

Varela's team is experiencing a positive streak, with increasingly mature performance and a squad that exudes confidence. The dream of promotion no longer seems a utopia and is lived with hope but also with restraint behind closed doors.

With the qualification secured, 9 de Julio already knows its next opponent: San Martín de Formosa, in a series that will start in Rafaela next weekend at the Germán Soltermam, which has been massively supporting and pushing the team at every decisive stage.

The Lion is strong, continues to grow, and dares to dream. The city is excited with two teams in the semifinals (Atlético de Rafaela secured its place on Saturday), and with the possibility of facing each other again in a final for promotion, which would be truly historic.

9 de Julio once again showed that it is prepared to fight until the end.

Gimnasia y Esgrima de Chivilcoy: 1-Emanuel Palleres; 4-Fausto Fiol, 2-Franco Flores, 6-Valentín Robatto, and 3-Martín Gallo; 8-Ramiro Medina, 5-Joaquín Iturrieta, 7-Mauro Gutiérrez, and 10-Franco Cáseres; 9-Nazareno Gómez and 11-Marcos Salvaggio. Substitutes: 12-Nicolás Ilchischen, 13-AlejandrO Guglielmo, 15-Francisco Millán, 17-Santiago Piersigilli, 18-Julián Ledesma, 19-Martín Salinardi, and 20-Nicolás Pavone. Coach: Alberto Salvaggio.

9 de Julio: 1-Franco Fragueda; 4-Maximiliano Martínez, 2-Facundo Centurión, 6-Jerónimo Almada, and 3-Sebastián Acuña; 8-Nicolás Del Sole, 5-Guillermo Ensabella, 7-Tobías Macies, and 10-Braian Peralta; 9-Enzo Abondetto and 11-Maximiliano Ibáñez. Substitutes: 12-Gómez, 13-Molinari, 14-Androetto, 15-Aversa, 16-Bustos, 18-García, and 20-Bonilla. Coach: Marcelo Varela.

Goals in the first half: 13m Maximiliano Ibáñez (9) and 25m Marcos Salvaggio (G).

Goal in the second half: 57m Enzo Abondetto (9).

Substitutions in the second half: Tomás Adroetto for Del Sole (9), 51m 14-Mario Dauria for Gallo (G), 52m 20-Tomás Bonilla and 18-Facundo García for Ibáñez and Peralta (9), 62m 19-Lautaro Ocampo and 17-Zabala for Macies and Abondetto (9), 64m 16-Isaias Ciavarelli for Iturrieta (G).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.