Vill-Mitre and Cipolletti played out a 1:1 draw in the Winners Stage of the Torneo Federal A on Saturday. Both sides came away with nine points from six games, sitting level in fifth and sixth place. By then you could sense neither team wanted to let the other go further ahead.
M. Escobar opened the scoring in the twenty-first minute for the hosts. The goal gave Vill-Mitre confidence, and they took control of the tempo. Cipolletti stayed compact and waited for their moment to strike.
G. Lucero levelled the scores in the thirty-fifth minute, a response that shifted momentum back and forth. And here's the thing — the game never truly settled after that. Both sides went looking for a winner but found each other's defence too organised.
Discipline was tested as the match progressed. L. Vella and V. Manchafico picked up yellow cards in the twenty-third and thirty-third minutes. Two more cautions followed in the second half, the fiftieth and fifty-second minutes. To be fair, the referee kept things under control.
The statistics told a story of dominance without conversion. Vill-Mitre registered 98 attacks against 79, and held 67 per cent possession. They shot seven times off target and six on target, while Cipolletti managed just one shot on target from one attempt. By then you could see the hosts were stretching the back line, but chances went begging.
Both sides enter the next round with identical records — two wins, three draws, one defeat. The gap between fifth and sixth remains a point, and this draw keeps them locked together. A result that neither side should mind too much.