A defeat in Mendoza that cost nothing
Godoy Cruz 2–1 Almirante Brown. The Mirasol lost the last match of the regular season in Mendoza, conceded in stoppage time, and still walked out with the Copa Argentina ticket in their pocket (2)(4)(19). That is the week in one sentence. A side that spent October dropping points found the one thing it needed and kept it while the table rearranged itself around them. Sixth in Zona A on 51 points after 36 games, goal difference +4. The title race belonged to Godoy Cruz and Ferro. The Mirasol belonged to the Reducido and to a cup they had not yet secured when the month began.
The derby was the season's real turning point
Almirante Brown 1–0 Deportivo Morón, Mariano Santiago the scorer (3)(7). Before it, six league games without a win, including a 1–1 with San Miguel at home in Isidro Casanova (6). The gap between those two performances is the story of this squad. Andrés Montenegro said they played it like a clásico (11). Luciano Pascual said they found something extra and used it (10). Bruno Galván's line was the most telling: "Le debíamos este triunfo a la gente" (16). A goalkeeper talking about a debt tells you the dressing room knew exactly how thin the patience had worn.
A squad good enough for ninety minutes, not for five months
Look at the last five results and the pattern is not a mystery: loss, draw, draw, win, loss (1)(4). This team did not fall out of the title race through one collapse. It fell out through a hundred small ones, a home draw here, an away point thrown there. Sixth in an 18-team zone is not a bad squad. It is a squad that cannot string three performances together, and the derby proved the ceiling is higher than the table suggests.
The election now matters more than the Reducido
Club members vote for a new board on 22 November, with list submissions opening 2 November (14). That is a date no supporter should let pass casually. Montenegro's group has taken this team to a Copa Argentina spot and a Reducido berth. Whoever wins the election inherits decisions about the coach, the squad, and a club that came within one match of Primera three years ago against Independiente Rivadavia, losing 2–0 in Córdoba on 29 October 2023 (21).
What to watch
Monday's Estudiantes–All Boys match settles who the Mirasol face in the Reducido, Temperley or Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy (4). Beyond that, 2 November opens the electoral window. Watch whether the Reducido run keeps the campaign quiet, or whether a cup spot and a playoff berth turn into the argument both lists use. Alegre Rojas, suspended in Mendoza, is available again for the knockout (9)(13). That back line needs him.
