Newell's, River open in winning fashion

Ignacio Scocco bagged a brace as Newell's Old Boys opened their Clausura campaign with a 3-1 victory at Independiente on Sunday. Scocco opened the scoring for last season's runners up in the 17th minute but their lead was short lived as Cristian Tula levelled shortly afterwards. Newell's were to have the last laugh, however, with Scocco and substitute Pablo Perez netting in the 77th and 82nd minutes to give the visitors the perfect start to the new season. Second-half goals from Leonel Vangioni and Carlos Luna gave ten-man River Plate a 2-1 win at Belgrano Cordoba. River's hopes of emerging with just the one point were hit when Leonardo Ponzio saw red just after half-time although Leonel Vangioni put them ahead in the 68th minute. Luna doubled their advantage in the 88th minute - two minutes after coming off the bench - and while Guillermo Farre set up a tense finale, his strike was too little, too late. A penalty apiece from Lucas Bovaglio (28) and Sebastian Grazzini (45) as well as Jonathan Lopez's strike in the 50th minute sealed a comfortable 3-0 success for Atletico Rafaela against Racing Club. FIFA