Villa Crespo and Ferro shared the points in a match where neither managed to gain the upper hand over the other. At the home ground, the side coached by ELDT lined up in a balanced 4-4-2 system aimed at keeping things even across the pitch, while the visitors, also with the same shape and mindset, arrived intent on not giving ground easily. The final 1-1 result reflected a matchday in which there were chances for both sides, but also a certain sterility in the finishing that characterised much of the contest.
Tato Sassi was the man to open the scoring for the home side. The 22-year-old forward, who has spent just a few years at Villa Crespo since that afternoon of makeshift scouts at a neighbourhood friendly, showed the hunger that defines players of his age. His goal came in a context where the home side were applying pressure on the visiting defence, though without being overwhelmingly superior. Sassi finished off a move that allowed Villa Crespo to take the lead and dream of the three points.
Ferro’s reply came with the maturity that experience brings. Salvador Zanchi, a 33-year-old central midfielder who plays with that sobriety typical of someone who has seen too much football, was the one who levelled the match. The visitors’ midfielder made the most of his qualities, and his goal restored the balance in a match that was no longer clearly suiting either side. Ferro, who had arrived in CABA determined to make life difficult, found in that strike the backing needed to avoid leaving defeated.
What followed was a more scrappy, more midfield-oriented spell of football. Lito Arichabaleta, the 37-year-old left-back who continues to bring his experience to Villa Crespo, picked up a yellow card that affected his involvement in the latter stages. The veteran from Comodoro Rivadavia, who for decades has defended with the precision that marks players of his generation, had to ration his interventions. Pancho De Santis tried to create from midfield, while Luis Fischer, the visitors’ 30-year-old forward, looked for openings for Ferro without managing to shake off the marking imposed by the home defence.
The draw was a fair one. Both sides had their moment, both found the net, and in that ebb and flow of action lay the summary of a matchday in which neither was good enough to deserve taking all three points. Villa Crespo took a point at home; Ferro took a point away from home. In the Primera L of CABA, on matchday 18, that was how it went.
Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos came in with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat in their last 5 matches.
Ferro Balvanera came in with 3 wins, 0 draws and 2 defeats in their last 5 matches.
In the last 2 meetings between Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos and Ferro Balvanera: 1 win for Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos, 1 draw and 0 for Ferro Balvanera.
Full Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos vs Ferro Balvanera head-to-head →
Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos (4-4-2): Luis Serrano, Lito Arichabaleta, Cacho Simionato, Elián Ulloa, Silvio Romiti, Xavier Viva, Pancho De Santis, Nicolás Vallejos, Walter Mazur, Rodolfo Zapata, Tato Sassi.
Ferro Balvanera (4-4-2): Giuliano Doval, Jeremías Villegas, Hugo Montoya, Gabriel Centurion, Oliverio Scopelliti, Horacio Bonansea, Misael Arrojo, Salvador Zanchi, Tomi Cortés, Lorenzo Egea, Luis Fischer.
In Primera L - CABA, Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos are in position 11 with 39 points; Ferro Balvanera are in position 13 with 37 points. See the full table
Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos, with 1,603 fans. Home ground: Estadio Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos.
Ferro Balvanera, with 1,644 fans. Home ground: Estadio Balvanera.
Next match for Deportivo Villa Crespo Veteranos: vs su proximo rival — Sunday 1 November at 01:00 GMT
Next match for Ferro Balvanera: vs su proximo rival — Sunday 1 November at 01:00 GMT
This match was played by two real managers on ELDT, the free online football manager game. Take your own club from the bottom all the way to the top flight.