Santamarina saw off Fundación Amigos 2:0 in the Losers Stage of the Torneo Federal A on Monday night, closing out a match that had looked as though it might go either way until the second half. The hosts climbed off the bottom of the group with a result that matters more than the points on paper.
The first hour passed with neither side able to break through, though the visitors looked slightly more dangerous on the counter. Then, by then, everything shifted: A. Devesa found space inside the area and fired home in the sixty-first minute, and the support of the fans could be called devoted, but that is an assessment, not a fact.
The game opened up after the break, with substitutions swirling around the pitch as both managers tried to find an edge. Santamarina brought on F. Meza and T. Romero together in the fifty-seventh minute, and the visitors responded by handing B. Zabaleta and N. Ali a chance to change the momentum. The incident went to review briefly when a challenge in the box drew attention, but play continued without penalty.
It was B. San Martin who sealed it in the eighty-first minute, finishing a move that had been building since the sixty-minute mark. The hosts kept three clean sheets on the spin now, and while that is a small sample, it tells you something about the way they set up. The visitors, third in the table, left with a result that will sit heavy.
On the numbers: Santamarina registered eleven shots with five on target, while Amigos managed just four attempts with one hitting the frame. Possession sat at fifty per cent apiece, which is about what you would expect when one side defends deep and the other attacks in phases. The heat took the sting out of it in the final quarter, and the visitors never got out of second gear after going behind.
Santamarina move to six points from six games, sitting ninth and still two matches away from safety. Amigos remain third with ten points, but this was a result that felt earned rather than given — and in this stage, that is the difference.