Colón are still in the mix, but they're yet to convince | OneFootball

There’s something that still doesn’t quite convince, especially after that 1-1 draw at home against Mitre. Not so much because of the result, but because it left the feeling that the team dropped two points rather than earned one. It was a match that should have been put away earlier. Because they created enough chances to win by a landslide and didn’t take them. And because when the team needed an extra gear, it couldn’t find it. Neither from within nor from the bench. The fans made that clear, and that makes sense too.

Today Colón sit fourth with 24 points, just one behind the leaders, Morón and Ciudad de Bolívar (the surprise package of this Primera Nacional). They are level on points with Los Andes and Ferro. Further back are Madryn and Godoy Cruz, while their next opponent, Almirante Brown, is currently moving into the group’s top eight.

Primera Nacional Zone A standings.

Colón are up there: they compete, they pick up points, but they still haven’t truly taken off.

It seems unfair to criticize too much a team that last year was on the verge of a sporting catastrophe. They still haven’t lost at home, they settled quickly into the division, and they found a fairly clear structure. The backbone seems defined: Budiño, center-backs Pier Barrios and Rasmussen, Federico Lértora, Lago (the team’s best player), and Bonansea. Marcioni and Sarmiento have slotted in well. There is a foundation. But there is also a very clear unresolved issue, and that is their performances away from Santa Fe.

Of the six away matches they have played, Colón have won only one. It was against Patronato. After that they drew with Central Norte, Los Andes, and Estudiantes de Caseros, and lost to San Telmo and Morón.

Now comes the hardest part. Of their next five matches, four will be away from home. First they visit Almirante Brown in Isidro Casanova. Then they host Bolívar in Santa Fe, followed by a run of away games against Defensores de Belgrano, Chaco For Ever, and Deportivo Madryn. That’s where this team will be tested.

The matches coming up for Colón.

This division also forces you to stay sharp. Not to relax. And also to keep picking up points whenever possible. So far, Colón have done a fair bit of that. But to be a true contender, their name alone won’t be enough.

Maybe that murmur against Mitre has more to do with fear than anger. The memory of last year is still far too fresh. The fans want to see a Colón side that imposes itself, that steamrolls opponents, that doesn’t suffer through matches it seems to have under control.

This doesn’t look like a team that doesn’t know how to compete. But sooner or later, the tournament is also played in places like Isidro Casanova, Madryn, Caseros, or Resistencia. That’s where this Colón side will have to provide answers.

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