Atletico del Rosario beat Belgrano 35:33 in the Top-12 tournament on Friday evening. The hosts took all three points at home, ending a run of defeats that had seen them lose four of their last five matches. Belgrano, meanwhile, went into the contest on the back of two wins from their previous five games. The result leaves the home side with a slight lift, though neither team has moved dramatically in the table.
We had backed the away side for victory, giving the visitors 62 per cent confidence. That prediction did not come off. The match itself was tighter than the recent form suggested, with both sides trading goals in a contest that never truly drifted away from even terms. Atletico del Rosario simply held their nerve when it mattered most.
The visitors had looked comfortable enough in their previous win over Hindú, scoring 36 goals and keeping a clean sheet defensively. But against a home side that had been struggling to find consistency, those numbers did not translate. Belgrano failed to impose themselves, and the hosts took advantage of the spaces they were given.
Atletico del Rosario's last outing before this match was a 37:34 defeat to Cuba, a game where they showed they could still score freely even when the result went against them. This time they converted their chances into a win, and the margin of two goals reflected a match decided by fine margins rather than dominance.
The Top-12 standings remain fluid, with neither side able to claim any real advantage from this result. Atletico del Rosario will take the win and move on, while Belgrano will need to regroup quickly. The tournament is still wide open, and matches like this one keep everything in play.