Hernandes sends Belgrano into Apertura final

Ramiro Hernandes converted the decisive spot kick as Belgrano reached the final of Argentina's Apertura tournament on Sunday by beating Argentinos Juniors on penalties.

Facundo Jainikoski put Argentinos Juniors ahead in the sixth minute with a close-range finish after Alan Lescano's deflected cross.

The hosts defended stubbornly until the 94th minute, when they failed to deal with Franco Vazquez's diagonal cross, allowing Nicolas Fernandez to pounce and sweep home the equalizer.

The match went to a penalty shootout after 30 minutes of extra time failed to break the stalemate. Belgrano goalkeeper Thiago Cardozo saved Enzo Perez's tame effort, before Hernandes held his nerve with his side's sixth attempt to send his team into the final against River Plate in Cordoba next Sunday.

"The whole group is euphoric," Hernandes told reporters after the match. "I put my hand up to take the sixth penalty and thankfully I was able to convert it. Now we have to keep our feet on the ground and prepare as best we can for the final."

Argentinos Juniors boss Nicolas Diez said strategy had little to do with the defeat but stopped short of blaming his players.

"I'm not going to over-analyze the match because if you play defensively and don't win, you'll say I sat back," he said. "If I put on more forwards and don't win, you'll say I took the wrong approach."