Banfield beat San Martín de Tucumán on pens, Copa Argentina last-16 draw | OneFootball

Banfield beat San Martín de Tucumán 5-4 on penalties in the Copa Argentina Round of 32 after a 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes, and will face Midland in the Round of 16 after Midland knocked out Deportivo Morón in late April.

El Santo shut down its opponent’s routes in the first half, as Banfield never looked comfortable in northern Argentina and showed plenty of weaknesses at the back. However, the first clear chance came from Pedro Troglio’s team in the 44th minute: a driven cross found Tiziano Perrotta alone in front of goal, but he blasted his shot over the crossbar.

From that goal kick came a long ball by goalkeeper Nahuel Manganelli, Danilo Arboleda misdirected it badly, and the ball fell to Benjamín Borasi, who sent Arboleda to the ground with a feint before finishing past Facundo Sanguinetti to score the opener.

In the second half, the substitutions paid off for Banfield and improved its poor first-half display, and it leveled the match in the 78th minute. One of the substitutes, Lautaro Gómez, hit the post, and on the rebound Mauro Méndez sent the ball into the back of the net for 1-1.

In the penalty shootout, the first nine spot kicks all found the net with precise finishes placed beyond each goalkeeper’s reach until the final shot: goalkeeper Facundo Sanguinetti saved Nahuel Gallardo’s attempt and secured qualification to the next round.

The left back could not quite cap off a perfect day, because he turns 28 this Saturday and had the company of his father, Marcelo Gallardo, who attended the stadium to watch one of his four sons play.

El Taladro wrapped up its semester with this match in Salta after failing to reach the playoffs of the Torneo Apertura. It finished 12th in Zone B with 18 points, three behind Racing, which claimed the group’s final direct-elimination berth.

The Southern side ended up in the bottom 10 of the Annual Table, but its main concern is the relegation averages, where it is only above Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, Aldosivi and Sarmiento. Accordingly, it is obliged to have a strong second half of the season to remain in the top flight.

Meanwhile, Tucumán’s Santo came into this match amid an uneven spell in Primera B Nacional. Andrés Yllana’s squad recorded its sixth draw in the last nine matches (2 wins and 1 loss), including the penalty shootout win over Estudiantes de Río Cuarto in the Copa Argentina Round of 64 (they drew 0-0 in the 90 minutes).

Unlike Banfield, San Martín de Tucumán will continue its schedule next Tuesday at 9:10 p.m. at home against Gimnasia de Jujuy on Matchday 13 of the B Nacional, where it sits fourth in Zone B with 18 points, in the Reducido playoff zone for the second promotion spot. It is worth remembering that the Second Division will not stop for the World Cup.

Banfield (5): Bruno Sepúlveda (GOAL), Lautaro Gómez (GOAL), Nicolás Meriano (GOAL), Tiziano Perrotta (GOAL) and Mauro Méndez (GOAL).

San Martín de Tucumán (4): Santiago Briñone (GOAL), Nicolás Castro (GOAL), Luciano Ferreira (GOAL), Tiago Peñalba (GOAL) and Nahuel Gallardo (SANGUINETTI SAVED).

Here is the Copa Argentina bracket

All Round of 32 matchups in the Copa Argentina

The best moments between Taladros and Santos:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.