Central Córdoba Rescues 2-2 Draw Against Defensa y Justicia With 95th-Minute Penalty

A penalty awarded in the 95th minute, following two VAR reviews that had the Alfredo Terrera on the edge of its seat, handed Central Córdoba a 2-2 draw against Defensa y Justicia that had looked impossible as the match entered its final stretch. Leonardo Sequeira, who had also set up the home side's first goal, made no mistake from twelve yards to complete a partial comeback that leaves mixed feelings on both sides.

Defensa y Justicia had taken a lead that looked solid. Jeremías Lucco opened the scoring in the 35th minute with a right-footed strike from the center of the box, assisted by David Barbona, making it 0-1 at halftime. Early in the second half, in the 52nd minute, Leandro Fernández doubled the advantage with a left-footed shot from outside the area to make it 0-2, seemingly putting the result out of reach for the visitors.

But Central Córdoba refused to give up. Marco Iacobellis pulled one back in the 70th minute with an angled shot from the right, set up by a through ball from Sequeira, dragging the hosts back into the fight. The match stretched deep into stoppage time, where a penalty was first awarded to Central Córdoba for a handball by Nazareno Roselli inside the area, a decision that went to VAR and was confirmed in the 87th minute. There was another review in the 93rd minute that was ultimately overturned, and finally, in the 95th minute, Sequeira converted the penalty low to the left, sealing the final 2-2 scoreline.

What the Numbers Say

Defensa y Justicia dominated possession and passing, and also created more clear-cut chances. Central Córdoba, however, was more persistent from corner kicks and finished the match having committed more fouls, which partly explains how the decisive penalty came about.

In terms of xG generated during the match, calculated after the fact based on shot locations, Defensa y Justicia finished with 2.13 compared to Central Córdoba's 1.73, a gap that reflects the visitors' greater number of clear chances, though it wasn't enough to secure all three points.

The pre-match projection had pointed to an even contest, with a 39% chance for Central Córdoba, 31% for a draw and 30% for Defensa y Justicia, with expected goals of 1.27 for the home side and 1.08 for the visitors. The final result, with four goals and an outcome decided from the penalty spot in stoppage time, ended up exceeding that forecast of a tight match, though the draw, which was the second most likely outcome in our projection, turned out to be the actual result.

Where the Standings Stand

In Group A, Defensa y Justicia came into this match in second place with 18 points from 10 games played (5 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses), while Central Córdoba sat in 15th place with 8 points from 10 games (2 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses), a 10-point gap between the two sides. The draw matters more for morale than for the standings for Central Córdoba, which still badly needs results, while Defensa y Justicia let slip two points that had seemed all but secured.

What this match leaves behind is, above all, a heart-stopping finish: a two-goal lead wiped out in just 25 minutes, two VAR interventions in the closing stages and a penalty converted with the last gasp that splits the point between two teams that came in with very different goals on the table.