Atlético Mitre took all three points against Defensores de Belgrano in the Primera Nacional's twenty-fourth round, winning 2:1 on Saturday evening in Santiago del Estero. The home side opened the scoring through a penalty and held on after Machado added a second, ending a run of two draws in a row for both clubs.
Ardaiz stepped up for the spot-kick in the twenty-fifth minute and did not miss, giving Mitre an early advantage. Machado doubled the lead in the sixty-sixth, finishing a move that caught the visitors off-guard. Defensores had chances to respond but their single shot on target came too late to trouble the home defence.
There were plenty of yellow cards as the match grew physical. Cabral and Minissale went into the book before the break, while Vazquez, Ardaiz, Gomez, Benitez and Mieres all received cautions in the second half. Mitre made six substitutions, bringing on Maldonado in stoppage time, and Defensores responded with their own changes to try and find an equaliser.
and here's the thing — the statistics tell a story of efficiency rather than dominance. Both sides held fifty percent possession, but Mitre's two shots on target proved more decisive than Defensores' one. The visitors had more attacks and corners, yet Mitre kept their shape and punished the mistakes.
to be fair, this was not a game that swung wildly. Mitre have now moved to thirty-one points from twenty-eight matches, three above Defensores who sit on thirty. The hosts' recent form included victories against Ciudad de Bolívar and Racing Córdoba, while Defensores' last outing ended in a draw with Estudiantes.
by then, the result was enough to separate these two sides in the table. Mitre remain in the middle of the pack, but the win gives them breathing room ahead of the final stretch. Defensores will need to regroup if they want to climb away from the relegation zone.