Buenos Aires, Mar 30 (IANS): Walter Mazzantti scored late and was sent off as Huracan secured a 1-0 home victory over River Plate in Argentina's Primera Division.

The visitors dominated possession and looked more likely to score until the 78th minute when Mazzantti ran half the length of the pitch before deftly chipping his shot over Franco Armani, reports Xinhua.

The 27-year-old, who had been cautioned for a bad foul only minutes earlier, was then shown a second yellow card for removing his shirt during the goal celebration.

"I forgot that I'd already been booked and got caught up in the emotion of the goal," Mazzantti said.

"My teammates told me afterwards that if River had equalised, I would have been in a lot of strife."

The hosts held on to secure their third win of the campaign as they rose to 10th in the 14-team Group A standings. River are now third with 21 points, three points behind leaders Argentinos Juniors.

In other fixtures on Friday, Defensa y Justicia edged to a 1-0 home win over Estudiantes, and Belgrano romped to a 4-1 victory at Tigre.