Vélez claws past Tigre 3-2 as Ronaldo Martínez nets late double

Ronaldo Martínez showed up twice when Vélez Sarsfield needed him most, and his second goal, in the 88th minute, handed Guillermo Barros Schelotto's side a 3-2 win over Tigre that simmered for the better part of the night at the José Amalfitani. The match, part of Group A of Argentina's Primera División, swung four times in the space of just half an hour in the second half and was only settled in the closing minutes, when a draw looked set to reward all that effort.

The home side struck early, in the 13th minute, when Ronaldo Martínez finished from the center of the box after Matías Pellegrini set him up on a fast break. Vélez controlled much of the ball in the first half and went into the break with the slim lead intact, though chances from Lucas Robertone and Juan Cruz Policella went unconverted, leaving the door open for a bigger cushion that never came.

Tigre refused to fold and the game opened up

In the second half, Ignacio Russo leveled things for Tigre in the 56th minute with a shot down the middle after an assist from Jabes Saralegui, and suddenly the match changed complexion. Vélez answered quickly: ten minutes later, in the 66th, Juan Cruz Policella put the home side back in front with a finish set up by Joaquín García. It looked like that might be the final word, but Tigre kept pushing down the flanks and got its reward in the 86th minute, when Jerónimo Dómina, on from the bench, poked home the 2-2 equalizer from the center of the box.

The tie lasted barely two minutes. In the 88th, Ronaldo Martínez struck for the second time on the night with a finish next to the left post, this time set up by Diego Valdés, also a substitute, restoring Vélez's lead just as the clock was running out on Tigre.

The numbers behind the result

Vélez was the more dominant side in possession and total shots, but Tigre stayed close in clear-cut chances and corners, a sign that the match was tighter than the final score suggests.

Our own xG estimate based on the match's shots actually puts Tigre ahead of Vélez, 2.17 to 2.02, a figure that confirms the visitors created enough danger to leave the Amalfitani with something, though Ronaldo Martínez's finishing ended up making the difference.

Before kickoff, our projection gave Vélez a 39% chance of winning, a 37% chance of a draw and a 24% chance of a Tigre win, with expected goals of 0.95 for the home side and 0.71 for Tigre, for a combined total of 1.66. Reality blew past that forecast: the two teams combined for five goals, and the match had the back-and-forth swing that the preview never anticipated, with Tigre far sharper than expected and an outcome that wasn't decided until the closing stretch.

What it means in the standings

With the result, Vélez Sarsfield moves to 20 points in Group A, built on 5 wins and 5 draws without a loss in 10 matches, and holds onto second place, just two points behind leader Instituto, who has 22. Tigre, meanwhile, sits outside the top spots in that same table. It was a match Vélez won with character, coming from behind at just the right moment, but one that also showed Tigre can trouble anyone once it starts crashing the box the way it did in the second half.