Soccer-River beat Boca 1-0 in Libertadores first leg

BUENOS AIRES, May 7 (Reuters) - River Plate scored with a late penalty to overcome city rivals Boca Juniors 1-0 on Thursday and take a slender advantage into the second leg of their Libertadores Cup last 16 tie. Carlos Sanchez broke the deadlock from the spot after 81 minutes to give the home side a barely deserved win in a scrappy tie played in front of 62,000 fans at the Monumental stadium. "The result was a fair one," Sanchez said. "We showed the right attitude and we ran for 90 minutes." The bad tempered match was marked by a number of over-the-ball challenges and off-the-ball incidents. Six players were booked and River's Teofilo Gutierrez sent off for a nasty challenge just before the end. The result came just four days after Boca beat their rivals 2-0 in the league. The sides will play the return leg next Thursday. Boca had won all six of their previous Libertadores matches this year while River had the worst record of the 16 qualifiers. The other Argentine team in action on Thursday, Racing Club, escaped with a 1-1 draw at Uruguay's Montevideo Wanderers. Matias Santos put the home side ahead after 54 minutes but Brian Fernandez equalised with three minutes remaining. (Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Peter Rutherford; peter.rutherford@thomsonreuters.com)