Nacional Let Two Points Slip Again, Draws 1-1 With Wanderers at Parque Viera

Same movie, different day. Nacional was one goal away from closing out a match it had under control, and once again, the ending turned on them. This Saturday at Parque Viera, the tricolor drew 1-1 with Wanderers, and the Bohemio's equalizer came right in stoppage time, a stunning goal that left the entire stadium in shock and Daniel Carreño visibly frustrated at the postgame press conference.

What stands out is that this isn't the first time it's happened. Just a week earlier, Nacional had let a 2-2 against Juventud slip away in the same fashion, late in the game, after controlling the result for most of the match. Two matchdays, two identical endings, and a sense of deja vu that's starting to raise concerns inside the club.

Carreño didn't dodge the topic when asked to explain it. He went straight to the numbers: "We let two points slip away again. That's four points in a week that we basically had in our pocket, and they got away from us," said the coach, clearly rattled by the repeat script.

A Tough Goal to Swallow

When asked what explanation he had for this pattern, the coach preferred not to get into specifics publicly, saying the answers would be sought behind closed doors, though he didn't hide his concern: "the situation isn't great," he admitted bluntly.

He did, however, go into detail about the specifics of the match. According to him, Wanderers' goal was nearly impossible to stop the way it happened, though he believes the team could have been more careful in the buildup. "That's a goal from another game, it's simply unstoppable. We could have defended it differently by staying ten meters higher up the field, in their half, holding onto the ball," he explained. He added something that sounded like collective self-criticism: "Things are happening to us that we need to own. We've got this habit that's working against us. We have to own it and face what's coming."

He was also asked whether it made sense to bring on an extra defender to close out the match in the final minutes, a fairly common move when a team is ahead and wants to shrink the spaces. Carreño flatly rejected the idea. In his view, the issue wasn't about the number of defenders on the field but about not managing possession in the closing minutes: "I don't see why we'd bring on a defender. We needed to keep the ball in their half, that's the best way to defend. It was a match full of nerves for both teams. It was the moment to keep the ball on the ground, and we didn't, and we paid for it at the end," he said.

Does this mean Nacional can already write off the fight for the Torneo Clausura? Not even close, according to the coach. Although he acknowledged that the gap to the teams up top is significant, he was firm about not giving up on the race: "there's still a long way to go, we're really far back, there are a lot of teams ahead of us, but give up, no way."