Defensores de Villelillas and Tucumán Central met in the Losers Stage of the Torneo Federal A on Tuesday evening, and what began as a routine fixture turned into something far more complicated before the final whistle. The hosts took the points 4:3 in a match that refused to settle into any predictable pattern, with the visitors finding themselves chasing the game for long stretches.
Minute twenty caught the eye early enough — not for what happened then, but for what was coming. V. Montenegro opened the scoring at six minutes, and G. Carballo responded almost immediately at nine to level matters. The hosts took the lead just before the break when L. Niz struck at 45+2, though M. Perdigon picked up a yellow card in the same moment of chaos. By then, the match had already shown its temperament.
The second half brought more movement. G. Rios pulled one back for the visitors at 62 minutes, and the substitutions began — F. Estrada and M. Krupoviesa both came on at 46, while G. Carballo was replaced at 63 and R. Montenegro at 64. A yellow card arrived for the visitors at 73, though the provider did not name the recipient. The hosts then took control through M. Martinez, who converted a penalty at 87 minutes.
And here's the thing about late goals — they tend to rewrite everything. L. Larrasabal struck for Tucumán Central at 89 minutes to keep the visitors alive, but Defensores de Villelillas found a winner at 90+4. A yellow card followed at 90+5, and the match ended with the hosts having done enough to salvage something from a difficult run.
Statistics told a story that matched the eye test. The hosts registered 152 attacks compared to 120 for the visitors, with possession split 0.59 to 0.41. Shots on target came to 9 for Defensores de Villelillas against 7 for Tucumán Central, while the visitors managed 3 corners to the hosts' 2. Offsides were notably lopsided at 0 against 9.
The result leaves Defensores de Villelillas in fifth place with 8 points from 6 games, while Tucumán Central sit ninth on just 2 points from 7 matches. The hosts have not won since their 4:1 victory over Sarmiento Resistencia, but this performance at least suggests they are finding their feet. The visitors, meanwhile, have yet to register a win and are struggling to find consistency — 0:4 against Gimnasia Concepción in their last outing before this match said as much.
