Argentino de Rosario kept their hands on the board at home to Mercedes in the Primera C regular season, the 23rd round of this campaign. The hosts took all three points with a 2:0 win on Friday evening, August 8th. T. Guinazu opened the scoring in the 87th minute before a late strike in the 90+5th minute sealed the result.
It was a match that needed a bit of patience from the home side, who had been knocking on the door for most of the night. By then the visitors were sitting ninth with 36 points, while the hosts languished 14th on 23 — a gap that felt wider than the scoreline suggested. The first goal came late, and here's the thing: once that went in, the game changed shape.
Argentino registered 97 attacks with eight corners, while Mercedes edged ahead with 102 attacks and just two corners. The home side had more shots on target, six to four, and kept possession at 54 per cent. Two yellow cards for the hosts and one for the visitors were the only bookings, and neither side saw red.
That possession and shot count tells you something about how the match played out. Many shots with two goals means chances went begging, and Mercedes particularly let the game flow into dangerous areas without converting. The away side's 102 attacks yielded only four shots on target — not enough against a defence that closed the game out.
For Mercedes the result ends a run of mixed form. They had beaten El-Porvenir 2:0 and Beracategui 1:0 in their previous outings, but this was a setback after that progress. The visitors remain nine points clear of the hosts, though three wins from 27 games is hardly a foundation to build on for the home side.
Argentino de Rosario extend their unbeaten run to eight matches across all competitions, though this was their first win in the league since early July. The draw brought them together early, and the history between them adds an edge to these encounters. What matters now is whether that late goal was a turning point or just another fragment of a long season.