BUENOS AIRES, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Ayrton Costa's early goal earned Boca Juniors a 1-0 home victory over Argentinos Juniors at La Bombonera on Sunday, sending them into the semi-finals of Argentina's Clausura tournament.
Leandro Paredes delivered a corner in the fifth minute, and although Miguel Merentiel's shot from the centre of the area was saved by Argentinos goalkeeper Gonzalo Siri, Costa pounced on the rebound to put Boca in the lead.
Argentinos' best chance came in the first half when Federico Fattori unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box that narrowly missed the target.
Boca nearly doubled their lead when Milton Gimenez tested Siri with a close-range header following Paredes' brilliant solo run. However, Siri's superb reactions kept his team in the contest.
Boca, led by coach Claudio Ubeda following the death of Miguel Angel Russo, maintained the pressure after the break, but the visitors put in a strong performance.
Argentinos' Alan Lescano and Diego Porcel both had powerful shots in the dying minutes, butthey were brilliantly saved by Agustin Marchesin.
"As a goalkeeper, I always keep calm to stop the shots. It’s a day-to-day job," Marchesin said. "We had a great first half, we were superior. We knew Argentinos play very well, yet we were clearer."
Boca will now await the result of Monday's match between Racing Club and Tigre to find out their semi-final opponents.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis)
