Gimnasia stuns Huracan with Conti header in stoppage time to flip the match

It had been tied and was even dreaming of a comeback. But deep into stoppage time, with the match all but over, Germán Conti rose for a header that sank Huracan and handed Gimnasia La Plata a win that had seemed out of reach. The final score was 1-2 at the Tomás Adolfo Ducó, in Argentina's Primera Division, in one of those games decided after almost everyone had stopped watching the clock.

The Lobo got on the board early and in the way it does best: a set piece. In the 17th minute, Pedro Silva Torrejón whipped in a cross and Ignacio Fernández met it with a header for the 1-0. Huracan had already threatened before that, with a Facundo Waller shot cracking off the post in the 4th minute, but couldn't turn its chances into goals, and went into halftime trailing despite having had the better looks. In the second half, the home side pushed for the equalizer without finding a breakthrough until referee Nicolás Ramírez pointed to the spot after a VAR review: in the 77th minute, Harlen Castillo fouled César Ibáñez inside the box, the play went to review, and at the 79th minute the penalty was confirmed. Jordy Caicedo made no mistake from twelve yards in the 82nd minute, curling a shot into the top corner to make it 1-1.

With the score level, the match looked headed for a split of the points. But in the 96th minute, deep into the added time (the fourth official had signaled six minutes of stoppage), Gimnasia found the net again through the same route that had opened the scoring: a cross into the box off a foul, this time headed home from close range by Germán Conti, sealing the final 1-2 and denying Huracan a point that had looked all but secured.

What the numbers say

Huracan dominated possession and generated more overall play, but lacked precision where it mattered most, converting just 4 of its 17 shots into shots on target. Gimnasia, with less of the ball, was more efficient with its chances.

The xG calculated after the fact from the match's shots also points to a close contest: 1.833 for Huracan versus 1.677 for Gimnasia. In other words, the home side generated somewhat more expected danger, but it was the visitor that walked away with all three points thanks to its sharpness in clear-cut chances (Gimnasia had 3 big chances according to the stats, while Huracan registered none in that category).

The result also runs counter to our pre-match projection: the preview gave Huracan a 40% chance of winning against 26% for Gimnasia, with a draw at 34%, and the expected goals pointed to a tight scoreline favoring the home side (1.14 to 0.85 for the visitor). The match ended up going the other way.

What the result leaves behind

In the Group B standings, Gimnasia La Plata moved to 22 points from 13 matches played, while Huracan stayed at 19 points after falling in the match's final moments. The gap between the two sides now stands at 3 points. For the Lobo, that late-game sharpness proved decisive; for the Globo, it's a familiar story: it created chances, controlled long stretches of the match, but couldn't hold on to a lead it had worked hard to earn from the penalty spot.