Acassuso make Tigre pay the penalty

Francisco Blengio stood between the ball and the net, again and again. By the time Club Atlético Acassuso had defeated Club Atlético Tigre 6-5 on penalties after a 2-2 draw, their goalkeeper had made 13 saves in the match and the second-tier side had sent another top-flight club out of the Copa Argentina.

They had 20 shots, 12 on target and struck the woodwork three times. Acassuso had 13 attempts, seven on target, and enough composure to stay level through a contest in which their goalkeeper was asked to make seven parried saves. The figures describe pressure; they do not explain how Acassuso endured it. Blengio does.

The tie was settled from the spot, with Acassuso taking it 6-5. They had already shown in March, when they eliminated Quilmes Atlético Club after a 1-1 draw, that a higher-division opponent need not make them hurry. This was a more demanding examination: Tigre made the second-tier side defend for long stretches, and still could not turn their advantage in possession into a passage through.

Tigre sent on Hugo Muciaccia, a regular who had begun on the bench, and he scored. Acassuso also turned to their substitutes: Federico Martínez came on at the interval and assisted, while Emiliano Ayala entered in the 51st minute and scored. It was a day when the benches supplied goals, but the tie’s decisive work belonged to the players who kept Acassuso level long enough for penalties to become possible.

Manuel Melgarejo also scored for Acassuso; Ayala’s goal completed their two. Tigre’s two goals were not enough, despite the pressure and the chances. The attendance was 25,226.

For Tigre, the exit is a sharp reminder that control and conversion are separate things. For Acassuso, it is another answer delivered without grand claims: a goalkeeper holding his ground, substitutes contributing, and a team from the lower tier still standing when the shoot-out ended.