Almagro took a last-gasp win in Villa Crespo Este, with a 1-0 scoreline that summed up the cold-blooded nature of finishing on a pitch where both sides lined up similarly but the visitors were more efficient where it mattered. The match was played like a balanced chess game, with two 4-4-2 formations that created few clear openings but left the hosts with the feeling of having left points on the table. Almagro arrived in GBA Oeste with patience, without the need for rashness, and that ended up being the difference in a contest where football lacked spark but had craft.
Almagro's numbers spoke for themselves at the back. Yoel Carrasco, the 23-year-old Brazilian centre-back with a rating of 7.7, was virtually a wall; Yair Jiménez, just a 16-year-old youngster who trots about in boots handed down from his brother, showed a defensive maturity that is not common at that age. In midfield, Ramón Spadafora (7.3) controlled the tempo and Turco Greenberg (7.6), the playmaker from Rosario aged 29, was the brains behind the visitors' few but effective approaches. Club de Villa Crespo Este found no attacking compass; Pichi De Luca, the 26-year-old winger raised among the oilfields of Comodoro Rivadavia, failed to create any real danger down the left flank, while Nilo Funes (21 years old, rating 6.1) was lost in the right-sided midfield. Jeremías Lera in the hosts' goal barely had any work to do, but that was a sign of a team that did not press.
Almagro's goal was a verdict: it came without drama, without heroics. The hosts had their chances to equalise but wastefulness was the visitors' ally. For Club de Villa Crespo Este there is the frustration of a first point that slipped through their fingers; for Almagro, the satisfaction of nicking three points on a difficult pitch with simple yet effective tactical intelligence.
In the last 2 meetings between Club de Villa Crespo Este and Almagro: 1 win for Club de Villa Crespo Este, 1 draw and 0 for Almagro.
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.
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.
In Primera L - GBA Oeste, Club de Villa Crespo Este are in position 9 with 42 points; Almagro are in position 8 with 42 points. See the full table
Club de Villa Crespo Este, with 1,728 fans. Home ground: Estadio Club de Villa Crespo Este.
Almagro, with 1,687 fans. Home ground: Estadio Almagro.
Next match for Club de Villa Crespo Este: vs su proximo rival — Sunday 1 November at 01:00 GMT
Next match for Almagro: 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.