Arsenal, River draw in Sudamericana semis

Buenos Aires, Argentina:

Arsenal drew River Plate 0-0 in a sloppy match for both Argentine clubs in the opener of a two-leg semifinal series for the Copa Sudamericana on Thursday.

The winner will either America of Mexico or Millonarios of Colombia. America won 3-2 in Bogota on Wednesday.

Neither Argentine club was able to produce scoring strategies despite chances in both halves before 17,000 fans at Arsenal's stadium.

River striker Radamel Falcao Garcia, a Colombian, had a shot easily batted away by Arsenal goalkeeper Mario Cuenca in the seventh minute, and soon after Cuenca also deflected an attempt by Oscar Ahumada.

River goalkeeper Juan Palbo Carrizo used his leg for a key save in the 24th minute by Sebastian Carrera. It was Arsenal's best chance of the first period.

In the second, the listless play stretched on for more than 15 minutes.

Then in the 84th, River's Diego Buononatte's strong shot from the edge of the area went just wide of the goal.

In injury time, Cuenca saved a shot by River's Fernando Belluschi before time ran out.