Huracán dominates the ball but can't get past Deportivo Riestra at home: scoreless draw

Huracán held the ball for nearly the entire match, finishing with 70.9% possession, and still couldn't leave the Tomás Adolfo Ducó with a win. The home side controlled the ball, but it was Deportivo Riestra that created more danger from box to box. In the end, it finished 0-0 as the two sides split the points in Argentina's Primera División.

The match opened with Huracán trying to dictate the tempo with the ball, but without much clarity in the final third. The first warning came in the 5th minute, a shot from outside the box by César Ibáñez that was blocked, and three minutes later Tomás Uribe tried his luck from distance as well, also missing the target. Deportivo Riestra, less comfortable on the ball, sat back patiently and looked to strike on set pieces or crosses into the box: in the 14th minute Tomás González tried a header from the left side that narrowly missed.

The visitors grew more confident as the minutes went on. Nicolás Benegas became the busiest attacking threat for Riestra, testing the Huracán goal in the 22nd, 26th, 33rd and 38th minutes, always from distance but with real persistence. That same 22nd minute produced the clearest chance of the first half for the Boedo side: a angled shot from Benegas that Huracán's goalkeeper had to push away low. Huracán answered through Ignacio Pussetto, who forced a good save from the visiting goalkeeper in the 24th minute with a low, well placed shot. The first half ended scoreless, with Riestra showing more bite in the penalty areas despite seeing far less of the ball.

In the second half, Huracán pushed for the opener. Lucas Blondel tried early in the second period and had another go in the 50th minute, while Juan Bisanz also tested the visiting goalkeeper in the 51st. Milton Céliz answered for Riestra with a header in the 57th minute that went just wide of the post. The home side turned to the bench, bringing on Facundo Waller, who added some spark down the left and gave notice with a shot in the 62nd minute that flew close to the top corner. Late on, with substitutions on both sides, Antony Alonso had the clearest chance for Riestra in the 83rd minute with a close-range effort that was also kept out. Four minutes of stoppage time were added, but the scoreline didn't change.

What the numbers say

The stats back up what was seen on the field: Huracán controlled the ball, but Riestra was sharper in front of goal.

The xG calculated after the fact from the shot locations in this match gives Deportivo Riestra a 1.52 against Huracán's 0.71, a number that backs up what was seen on the pitch: the visitors generated the more dangerous chances despite having far less of the ball.

The result also contrasts with our pre-match projection, where we gave Huracán a 50% chance of winning, against a 34% chance of a draw and just 16% for a visiting win, with expected goals of 1.19 for the home side and 0.56 for Riestra. The draw ended up being the outcome, and on top of that, in a match where the visiting team was the one that came closest to scoring according to the numbers from the game itself.

In the Group A standings, Deportivo Riestra arrives at this draw with 7 points from 6 matches played (2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses), sitting in seventh place. It's a point that doesn't change much for them, but it adds up in a competition where there's still plenty of road left to travel.