The last ball fell in the “7” and the bet for a full house was given to Belgrano, which ended with the goal of Matías Suárez with a 1-1 draw against Unión when everything seemed lost. Because there was almost nothing left in the game and the team had been disoriented on the field and imprecise in the game for long passages.
The Pirates did not play well, they tried to control the ball, connect between the lines and link passes, but they failed for long minutes and that is why in the second half the only shot that was on goal ended in a tie.
The VAR in our football is sometimes incomprehensible. At 48 minutes into the second half, it took more than five minutes to draw lines and analyse a play that seemed to be offside by Suárez and with a previous foul by Quignón on Roldán.
But that “crazy coin toss” that are the refereeing decisions in AFA fell in favor of Belgrano to allow the people who left knowing that the team did not play a good game to vent their frustration.
The home team, which had its mind set on Thursday’s match against Paranaense in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana, even if it didn’t want to, could not abstract itself from the upcoming commitment and at times was unable to be the team it had shown itself to be on other dates at the Gigante.
The idea of linking passes, of being patient and of handling the ball, did not have a correlation in the general mobility, because he did not find in Metilli or Fernández the players who could unbalance or explode. And to this was added a Barinaga who did not win on his wing and the right was left orphaned in the attack.
On the other hand, Velázquez, without Reyna, was able to have the wing for his game and he did his job. He was the most predisposed attacker and although some shots from the side were not well directed, it is clear that without the Peruvian on the field he performs better.
The start
The Pirates started off in the best possible way, managing to win in the middle of the field and on the left they began to create chances that almost ended in a goal. First it was Velázquez who, after a rebound, made the ball hit the crossbar, before that Rébola had headed it weakly and then “Uvita” Fernández, being so clever, once again shook Cardozo’s post with a free kick to the first post.
After that 8-minute flurry, the match began to get into a slow rhythm, the home team no longer controlled the space and Unión tried to create something on the counterattack. Orsini shook Chicco’s hands and nothing else happened.
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Time began to run out due to inaccuracies and Pirata was already playing further away from the Tatengue goal, while the visitors felt comfortable with keeping the home team in line and going into the break with a draw in their pocket.
The end
The second half started in the worst possible way for the Pirates, because all of Belgrano came in asleep and the first ball played into their area found Balboa’s backheel and from there the 1-0 was born.
From the start the game changed its course, because Unión, who had done nothing in attack, was winning and Pirata, who did not play at their best, knew that the slope was very high.
Belgrano began to crash against the red and white wall and could not find a way to break through the visiting defense, which whenever it could, threw it forward without fear of a quick return.
The entry of Facundo Quignón gave the team better play, Jara’s desire was another key and suddenly, when the defeat seemed consummated, a cross from the left was headed by the substituted midfielder, before pushing Roldán and Suárez captured the ball for the final 1-1.
The point is enough for Pirata to not be left empty-handed in their stadium, but they know that the road to international status in 2025 requires more points. They got a draw for which they did just enough, they didn’t have much left, but it was enough for having gone ahead and because the VAR and the referees in Argentina continue to make mistakes quite often.
