Newell’s Old Boys lost what looked like a comfortable 2-goal lead on Monday night as Raúl Lozano’s 93rd minute goal sealed a draw for Patronato in Rosario.
Gustavo Velázquez’s 6th minute opener seemed like it would set the tone for a dominant Newell’s win with Sanguinetti’s side looking equally dangerous from both set-pieces and on the counter-attack but the foot was taken off the gas in the second-half. Ramiro Sordo scored his 4th goal of the season just before half-time to extend The Lepers’ advantage but the two-goal lead was short-lived. When Sebastián Medina grabbed the first goal to be scored in open play against Newell’s this season on 54 minutes, it triggered a fight-back that culminated in Lozano’s late equaliser against a tired Newell’s defence.
On another day, Newell’s might have won comfortably if clear-cut chances by Ramiro Sordo (off the post) and Genaro Rossi (saved) had been converted late in the game but these misses gave the away side the courage to push Newell’s to the edge. The referee’s 8 minutes of added time seem to come from the sky and they allowed Patronato to work the equaliser after a tired Armando Méndez lost the ball high in the opposition half.
The players looked dejected at the end of the match and it did feel like a loss in-front of a boisterous home crowd at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa but The Lepers remain unbeaten and fall to 2nd in the league based on having scored just one goal fewer than new leaders Gimnasia.
Watch the highlights of the match below.
