Restra and Banfield shared four points in the Argentine Cup quarter-final, the tie settling on penalties after a 1:1 draw through extra time. The match opened with Restra taking the lead just before half-time, but Banfield levelled quickly after the interval. It was a contest that demanded more than ninety minutes to produce a decision.
A. Stringa gave the hosts an advantage in the forty-fifth minute, a moment that shifted the balance before the break. T. Adoryan responded five minutes into the second half, restoring equality at 1:1. By then the pattern was set — two goals, neither side willing to yield ground.
Discipline became a factor when S. Esquivel received a yellow card in the fifty-seventh minute and was substituted shortly after. Banfield's T. Adoryan picked up a booking of his own in the ninety-second minute, adding tension to the closing stages. Restra brought on three players at the seventy-minute mark, including Stringa himself, a move that drew questions about the plan for extra time.
The shootout stretched to eleven kicks on each side, with C. Quintana the only miss among twenty attempts. Restra's goalkeeper made six saves during regulation, while Banfield's keeper managed three. Even numbers like these tell you little about the match itself — the real story was in the moments between.
Restra had 40 per cent possession and four shots on target, while Banfield controlled 60 per cent with seven attempts on goal. The visitors created two big chances compared to none for the hosts, yet neither side could break through. It was a game where chances went begging and penalties did the talking.
The result ends Banfield's recent run of mixed form — they had lost three of their last five matches before arriving here. Restra came into the fixture with four consecutive draws, a pattern that suggested caution rather than ambition. Whatever the statistics show, one thing is clear: the tie was decided by composure under pressure, not by possession or shots.
