Banfield held on to beat Midland 2-2 on penalties in the Copa Argentina Round of 16 on 19 August 2026. The match finished level after extra time, with the shootout providing the only separation between two sides that had traded blows since the opening whistle.
And here's the thing about the first half — it opened with a penalty. Machado converted for Banfield in the fifteenth minute, and Midland responded almost immediately. Adoryan equalised in the twenty-second, then came a goal in the twenty-third that gave Banfield a narrow lead going into the break. The visitors came out with three changes at the interval, though they couldn't find a way through.
By then the match had settled into something more familiar. Marin pulled Midland level in the forty-ninth minute, and Recalde restored Banfield's advantage just four minutes later. Yellow cards began to accumulate — Oviedo, Hernandez, Daniele, Diaz Laharque, Adoryan, Villegas — a reminder that this was becoming a tight affair. Neither side could find a winner, and the game stretched to extra time.
The penalty shootout was where the match finally found its shape. Roseti and Sepulveda both missed from the spot, then Cao added to the confusion by sending his effort wide. After that, it was clinical: Anselmo, Recalde, Zalazar, Flores, Meriano, Leguiza and Gomez all converted. Banfield held their nerve to advance.
Midland had more possession at fifty-three per cent and registered more attacks — 128 to 112 — but their shots on target yielded only two goals. Banfield were more efficient in the final third, creating one big chance compared to the visitors' two. The statistics tell you where the pressure lay, but not where it mattered.
The result keeps Banfield in the competition and sends Midland packing. Both sides had shown enough to suggest either could have gone through, but in games decided on penalties, it is rarely the team that dominated that progresses.