One point rescued, and it might be the point that saves the season
San Miguel 1–1 All Boys. Lucas Cano headed in the equaliser after Gustavo Fernández had put San Miguel ahead from the penalty spot (6). That is a point taken off a direct relegation rival, away from home, in a stadium where both sets of supporters were allowed in (9). All Boys sit 13th in Zona A on 32 points from 30 games, goal difference minus nine (7).
Read the form line again: L D W L D. Five games, five points. Not a collapse, not a revival. A team holding its ground.
Cano and Delgado are the whole attack
Fabián Nardozza named his likely eleven before the trip: Carrizo; Grana, Coronel, Zafarana, Quiróz; Turraca, Ramírez, Barrientos, Calone; Cano and Delgado (8). Cano delivered. He is the one player in this squad who turns a half-chance into a goal, and his equaliser at San Miguel is the second time in three weeks that a single moment from him has carried the result.
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The problem is what sits behind him. All Boys scored once at San Miguel, once against San Telmo, and could not score at all against Chaco For Ever or Ferro Carril Oeste. One goal in four matches from a front line that starts the same two names every week. Nardozza has no rotation because he has no alternative. Delgado runs the channels, Cano wins the aerial ball, and if either is marked out of a game there is nothing left.
Drawing the direct rivals is not enough
The table is tighter than the points suggest. All Boys are out of the relegation places, but the gap is a cushion, not a wall. Teams below them keep picking up single points in exactly these fixtures, and San Miguel was one of them (7).
Two of the last five results are 0–0 and 0–1 at home. The Estadio Islas Malvinas used to be worth something. This season it has produced one win since August, and home points are the cheapest currency in a relegation fight. Beating the teams around you away is nice. Winning at home is mandatory.
What to watch
Colón (Santa Fe) come to All Boys on Saturday, September 26, kick-off at 21:00 CEST (2). Colón are not San Miguel. They are a different weight of opponent, and a home match against them is the fixture that will tell you whether this squad has the nerve for the run-in.
Then Deportivo Morón away on Saturday, October 3 (2). Two weeks, two results, and the shape of the whole survival race changes. Watch the eleven Nardozza picks on Saturday. If Cano and Delgado start again, so does the same gamble.
