There were mixed emotions for the Argentina coach Alfio Basile who saw his side beat Uruguay 2-1 late on Saturday night - pleased that they were back to their winning ways and angered by the physical approach of their opponents at the Monumental. Early goals by Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero gave the hosts a 2-0 lead before Diego Lugano cut the deficit just before half-time.
But despite seeing his side end their five-match winless run and move up to second in the South American World Cup Qualifying group, Basile was less then pleased with the tactics of the visitors. "There were some very hard fouls but the referee didn't react. He was a disaster," the Argentina manager said. "We were deserved winners. We could have opened up a bigger lead in the first half but in the second half, it was impossible to play. The Uruguayans were very violent."
As a result of the physical encounter, Basile will be sweating on the fitness of Aguero, Martin Demichelis and Javier Mascherano for Wednesday's game against Chile in Santiago. "We will have to wait and see how they feel in the next days," he said of the injured trio. Meanwhile, the Uruguay forward Sebastian Abreu was critical of his team's performance. "We almost couldn't create any chances. We didn't play well and I think we deserved to lose," he said. "Were we violent? No, I believe both teams were physical. But the referee did not have his best afternoon," the River Plate player added. While Argentina travel to Santiago Uruguay will be up against Bolivia in La Paz.
Meanwhile, Paraguay remained firmly at the top of the group after a 1-0 away win over Colombia in Bogota on Saturday. An early goal by Salvador Cabanas sent Gerardo Martino's side up to 20 points, four ahead of Argentina. It was Columbia's third consecutive defeat and they remain sixth in the standings with 10 points. Paraguay's next match on Wednesday is a home game against last-placed Peru in Asuncion, while Colombia visit Rio de Janeiro to face Brazil.
Elsewhere, Bolivia climbed off the bottom of the standings after thumping Peru 3-0 in La Paz. The defeat piled the pressure on the Peru coach Jose Del Solar, who has seen his side manage only one win so far in the qualifiers. * Agencies
