La Academia ousted their Avellaneda rivals in a heated derby that saw three players sent-off.
Racing Club defeated arch-rivals Independiente 1-0 in a hotly-contested clash at the Jose Maria Minella stadium in Mar del Plata on Saturday, thanks to a second-half strike from Gabriel Hauche.

With the win, Alfio Basile's much-improved side won the Copa Provincia de Buenos Aires to boost their confidence looking ahead to the Argentine Clausura championship.

The fiery encounter produced three red cards, two for Independiente with former Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito and Fernando Godoy, and another for Hauche, Racing's goal-scorer.

Racing played the better soccer in a first half that ended scoreless, creating two clear-cut opportunities to score that were not taken advantage of by Colombian attackers Teofilo Gutierrez and then Giovanni Moreno.

In the second period Racing continued to be the stronger side of the two, as they outplayed their rivals with a dominant passing game. Moreno was clearly Racing's standout performer, due to his elegance on the ball and vision of the field.

Precisely, Gio was responsible for creating the eventual match-winner, when in the 61st minute he got past his marker with a nice first touch, before bursting through the midfield and sending a precise through ball into the path of the onrushing Hauche who beat Independiente goalkeeper Adrian Gabbarini with a clinical finish.

Shortly after the goal both teams were reduced to ten-men, and this helped open up the game, as both sides attacked each other with more space.

Independiente, who ended up with nine-men, couldn't find a way through the Racing defence and had to settle for a narrow defeat.