Almagro and Club de Villa Crespo Este shared the points in La Paternal in a fixture where both well-balanced approaches were ultimately reflected on the scoreboard: 1-1. Two 4-4-2 line-ups with evenly matched mentalities produced a scrappy match, with no great differences in tactical intent. The home side had territorial control, but the visitors never felt comfortable while outnumbered. A fair draw, perhaps inevitable when both teams came to avoid losing rather than to win.
Nahuel Mora, the 16-year-old midfielder from Mendoza that Almagro continue to develop in their right-sided attack, opened the scoring with a goal that marks him out as a valuable piece in this Primera L. His 7.2 rating is no coincidence: the youngster has real clarity in the final third. At the other end, Nilo Funes — from Resistencia, 21 years old — levelled matters with a goal that allowed the visiting side to keep alive their hopes of taking something from the fixture. Both with 7.2 in the assessment, both made their mark when the chance came. Pichi De Luca was an awkward presence on the left for Villa Crespo Este; Galo Cadel tried to shut him down from the home full-back spot. In midfield, Dante Wolf and Ramiro Visini did not allow the game to flow in either direction, mutual control and little else. Mauricio Altuna had a solid afternoon in Almagro's defence, reading the game as he knows how; Yoel Carrasco backed him up without any real trouble, though he did pick up a yellow. The visitors' defence also did its job.
The point helps both in the race at the top, but neither made ground. Almagro could not make the most of home advantage to pull away; Villa Crespo Este left content, knowing they took something from a difficult ground. In a league where every point matters, nobody can complain, but nobody will be jumping for joy either. Matchday 16 with the feel of a necessary formality.
Almagro came in with 2 wins, 0 draws and 3 defeats in their last 5 matches.
Club de Villa Crespo Este came in with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats in their last 5 matches.
In the last 2 meetings between Almagro and Club de Villa Crespo Este: 1 win for Almagro, 0 draws and 1 for Club de Villa Crespo Este.
Almagro (4-4-2): Andrés Astudillo, Galo Cadel, Mauricio Altuna, Yoel Carrasco, Yair Jiménez, Adrián Palomeque, Dante Wolf, Ramon Spadafora, Nahuel Mora, Walter Botti, Turco Greenberg.
Club de Villa Crespo Este (4-4-2): Jeremías Lera, Polaco Benítez, Miguel Rossini, Ramon Veronese, Lucio Guzmán, Pichi De Luca, Leonardo Gutiérrez, Ramiro Visini, Nilo Funes, Maxi Sotomayor, Eduardo Ponce.
In Primera L - GBA Oeste, Almagro are in position 8 with 42 points; Club de Villa Crespo Este are in position 9 with 42 points. See the full table
Almagro, with 1,687 fans. Home ground: Estadio Almagro.
Club de Villa Crespo Este, with 1,728 fans. Home ground: Estadio Club de Villa Crespo Este.
Next match for Almagro: vs su proximo rival — Sunday 1 November at 01:00 GMT
Next match for Club de Villa Crespo Este: 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.