The defeat that should not have happened
Almirante Brown 0–1 Acassuso at the Fragata Sarmiento, on Saturday, September 26 (3)(5). Acassuso are bottom of Zona A, had won three matches all year and had never won away (2). They left with all three points. The goal came from a David Escalante penalty that Felipe Viola awarded, and the Almirante players surrounded the referee (5)(6). Blame the penalty if you like. Bottom clubs do not win at your ground because of one whistle.
Four weeks, one goal, none scored
That is the fourth straight match without a win, and the second straight 0–1 at home (5). Look at the run in order: 0–0 with Central Norte away on September 6, 0–0 with Ferro Carril Oeste at home on September 13 (2 recent results). Two goalless draws, then Chaco For Ever 1–0 Almirante Brown on September 20 (7)(8), then Acassuso. Go back further and the last league goal was in the 1–0 win over Deportivo Madryn on August 30. Andrés Montenegro made two changes to the XI for the Acassuso game, Enzo Cardozo and Gerardo Alegre Rojas among them (2). The shape changed. The output did not.
The Chaco trip was worse than the scoreline. Almirante lasted ten minutes before losing the thread of that match (7), and it was stopped for several minutes when cardboard coffins appeared in one of the stands (12). Agustín Ojeda scored the only goal and Cravero's side moved further from the drop at Almirante's expense (10).
Sixth is not safe
Sixth in Zona A with 46 points from 31, goal difference +5, and a form line of W D D L L. That is the position the Mirasol is defending in the race for the Reducido. The fixture list is brutal and gives no middle ground: the last six rounds are against the teams at the top and the teams at the bottom, nothing in between (9). That cuts both ways. There are points on offer, and there are traps exactly like the one Acassuso just sprang.
What to watch
San Telmo away on Sunday, October 4, then San Miguel at home on Saturday, October 10. San Telmo are one of the sides Almirante can reel in, so that trip is the one that decides whether sixth place is a platform or a countdown (4)(9). Montenegro's own words before the run-in: "No hay que confiarse. Es todo muy parejo. Hay que jugar cada partido como si fuera una final" (9). Four matches without a win later, that line reads less like a warning and more like the diagnosis.
