Patriotas Pompeya
1 - 3
Def. Retiro Oeste
1,523 fans in the stadium · gate receipts: $1,961,500
Match report
Defensores de Retiro Oeste arrived in Pompeya with a clear intention not to speculate, and that showed from the first half. Both teams lined up in a conventional 4-4-2, but the visitors found the spaces to do damage earlier. Patriotas Pompeya were not especially poor in defence: they simply came up against a rival that knew where to strike. The Pompeya pitch was never a fortress. The home side had their moments of recovery and controlled circulation, but they lacked that spark to turn the balance of the game into clear chances. Gael Bertola, the thirty-two-year-old central midfielder, carried out his role without major alarms from the middle of the park, a veteran who knows the habits of football in this part of Greater Buenos Aires, but it was not enough to give the team attacking depth.
What Retiro Oeste did differently was simple: they took their chances. The young full-backs in the visiting side, Bauti Hernández and the teenager Cataldo Arbieto, just nineteen and seventeen years old respectively, showed a mobility that Patriotas did not know how to counter. Arbieto, who has only been at the club for a couple of years after arriving on the recommendation of a schoolmate, had a good presence down the left. Hernández, also one of the youngsters from Merlo like most of these lads, carried out his defensive and attacking duties well. Midfielder Bauti Buffoli, another youngster who arrived from Mendoza recently at the club, was a constant link in Retiro Oeste's passing.
Defensores' goals were not the result of chance. Ian Arechavaleta, the twenty-three-year-old forward with that scar on his eyebrow that he touches whenever a sign of concentration is needed, scored one of the goals. Ángel Aldazabal, the twenty-seven-year-old Bahía central defender who makes up with character for what he lacks in particular technical gifts, also scored from the back, which speaks to the home side's disorder in the final third. Patriotas managed to pull one back thanks to Marcelo Álvarez, the twenty-three-year-old right-back who came through on the dirt pitches of Merlo, who got his name on the scoresheet. With his assist, Gael Bertola tried to be the home side's attacking spark when things got complicated, but control had already been lost.
The result was emphatic: three-one in favour of the visitors on an afternoon when Patriotas Pompeya were not at all bad defensively, but simply came up against opponents who knew what to do with the ball. Retiro Oeste did not come to impress or to play spectacularly. They came to win, and did so without needing to produce an all-time classic. Sometimes, a comfortable victory is just confirmation that someone read the match better than the other side.
Form guide
Patriotas Pompeya came in with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat in their last 5 matches.
Def. Retiro Oeste came in with 1 win, 3 draws and 1 defeat in their last 5 matches.
Head-to-head
In the last 2 meetings between Patriotas Pompeya and Def. Retiro Oeste: 1 win for Patriotas Pompeya, 1 draw and 0 for Def. Retiro Oeste.
Line-ups
Patriotas Pompeya (4-4-2): Saúl Tassone, Silvio Marchetti, Gabriel Filippa, Nene Caparros, Marcelo Álvarez, Bauti Schiavi, Geremías Fernández, Gael Bertola, Nahuel Peñalva, Ciro Bettega, Gino Sánchez.
Def. Retiro Oeste (4-4-2): Diego Brambilla, Cataldo Arbieto, Gino Jiménez, Ángel Aldazabal, Bauti Hernández, Yanis Braun, Mirko Arcuri, Pocho Wolf, Bauti Buffoli, Nene Bono, Ian Arechavaleta.
Where they stand
In Primera I - GBA Norte, Patriotas Pompeya are in position 5 with 43 points; Def. Retiro Oeste are in position 2 with 56 points. See the full table
Other results from matchday 7
About the clubs
Patriotas Pompeya, with 1,637 fans. Home ground: Estadio Patriotas Pompeya.
Def. Retiro Oeste, with 1,752 fans. Home ground: Estadio Def. Retiro Oeste.
Coming up
Next match for Patriotas Pompeya: vs su proximo rival — Saturday 31 October at 00:15 GMT
Next match for Def. Retiro Oeste: vs su proximo rival — Sunday 1 November at 00:45 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.