Defensores de Belgrano beat Deportivo Madryn 2-1 in the First National Division on Sunday, a result that keeps the hosts in 12th while the visitors drop further behind in fourth. The match turned on two penalties, and here's the thing — it was the same man who stepped up for both.
E. Gonzalez opened the scoring in the 34th minute before doubling his tally from the spot just five minutes later. N. Solis pulled one back for Madryn with a penalty of his own in the 60th, but the home side held firm to see the game out.
To be fair, the statistics don't tell the full story. Defensores registered two shots on target against Madryn's one, yet both sides shared possession evenly. The match was decided in the third of those penalty spots, and by then the visitors had already seen their lead slip away.
There were yellow cards for everyone — five for the hosts, four for the visitors — with a cluster around the 50th minute that suggested the game was getting tense. I. Perez, L. Jerez Silva, G. Gamarra and E. Aguirre all went into the book before Solis's equaliser shifted the momentum.
Defensores made four changes in the 63rd minute, bringing on J. Cosi, N. D. Ortiz, P. Moyano and I. Gutierrez in one sweep. They added more substitutions later, including a double in the 82nd minute, while Madryn made two changes in the 74th.
The visitors have not won since their 3-1 victory over Ciudad de Bolivar on September 6th. A draw at home to Los Andes and a loss to Almirante Brown have stalled their run, and they are running out of games to recover ground.
Defensores sit 12th with 33 points from 29 matches — seven wins, 12 draws and 10 defeats. Madryn remain in fourth with 46 points, but this result cuts the gap between them and the chasing pack in the table.