Orsini scores twice as Barracas Central stuns Atletico Tucuman 3-2 with stoppage-time winner

Atletico Tucuman had the lead, had defended it tooth and nail, and had even won it back in stoppage time with a header that looked like the fair reward for a hard-fought comeback. But soccer doesn't always reward effort: in the 92nd minute, with the match already in its dying gasps, Nicolas Orsini popped up in the box once more to net the final 2-3 and leave Monumental Presidente Jose Fierro feeling like the point, or all three, had slipped away in the final breath.

The match, part of Group B of Argentina's Primera Division, began with Atletico Tucuman setting the tone despite seeing less of the ball. Nicolas Lamendola opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a right-footed strike from the middle of the box, finishing off a cross from Leonel Di Placido, and that 1-0 lead held up through halftime.

Barracas Central's response

In the second half, Barracas Central, led by manager Damian Ayude, shook things up at the break, and those changes proved decisive. Enzo Taborda, just off the bench, equalized in the 57th minute with a close-range left-footed finish after a cross from Tomas Lavezzi. Then in the 74th minute, Nicolas Orsini scored the first of his two goals on the night, this one with his right foot through the middle, capping a move that started from a free kick taken by Nicolas Demartini.

Atletico Tucuman, unwilling to fold under manager Julio Cesar Falcioni, found an equalizer in the 89th minute through a header from Maximiliano Villa, who had come on for the injured Di Placido and showed up right on cue to meet a corner kick from Gianluca Ferrari headed into the top right corner. It looked like the home side would walk away with at least a point that would feel like a moral victory. But in stoppage time, with the fourth official signaling four additional minutes, Barracas Central had the last word: Orsini, this time with a header, finished just inside the left post off another Lavezzi cross to make it a final 3-2.

By the numbers

The stats reflect a match that was even in terms of clear chances, though the visitors controlled possession.

According to our xG estimate, calculated after the fact based on shot locations, Atletico Tucuman generated 1.324 expected goals and Barracas Central 1.536, a gap that doesn't fully account for a five-goal match but does confirm the visitors carried a bit more danger in their attacking sequences.

Pre-match projections had pointed to an even contest, giving Atletico Tucuman a 39% chance of winning, 34% for a draw and 27% for Barracas Central, with a combined expected goals total of 2.01 between the two sides. The final result blew well past that offensive projection, with three goals coming in the final half hour alone, and the win ended up going to the side given the least chance on paper.

What the result means in the standings

In Group B, both teams arrived with different needs. Barracas Central sat in eighth place with 15 points from 11 matches played, the product of 4 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses, while Atletico Tucuman was tenth with 13 points from 11 matches, with 3 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, just 2 points behind their rival on the night. The stoppage-time win lets Barracas Central take all three points and widen that gap, in a table where the middle of the pack remains tightly bunched.

For Atletico Tucuman, it's the emotional blow that will sting the most: drawing level in the 89th minute only to concede the winner three minutes later ranks among the hardest ways to lose. Falcioni will have to lift spirits heading into what's next, while Barracas Central celebrates a comeback completed on the match's very last play.