There were two names that dominated the scene in Vicente López. Gustavo ‘Sapito’ Coleoni on the bench and Joaquin Pucheta in the arch of San Miguel They were the great creators of sporting glory for the ‘Trueno Verde’, which in a dramatic penalty shootout won the last promotion to the Primera Nacional after beating Douglas Haig of Parchment.
After tying 0-0 in the regular 90 minutes and the 30 minutes of extra time, Pucheta contained four finishes in the definition and converted his, to give a kind of revenge to San Miguel, which after being one of the best in the general table of Primera B, lost to Talleres de Remedios de Escalada in the final for the first promotion.
SAN MIGUEL RETURNS TO THE FIRST NATIONAL 🟢⚡✅
Trueno Verde defeated Fogonero 6 to 5 in the penalty shootout and was promoted to the second category of Argentine soccer. Puchetta saved the last penalty from Meza, while Benítez sealed the series. pic.twitter.com/mFbIUzxqXx
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But despite the blow, they became strong in the Reduced and reached a new definition, the third and last, after the promotion of Gimnasia y Tiro, from Salta, in the Federal A. After 22 years, Trueno Verde returned to the Second Argentine soccer division.
This Tuesday the rival was Douglas Haig, who was looking for his place in the First National after six years, and who also arrived beaten from the final loss against the team from Salta.
In a match in which no differences could be made and in which Pergamino’s team were clearer in the first half and tried to hurt, without success, from the outside, and that thanks to their drive, had San Miguel as the protagonist in the first half an hour into the second half, they finally finished tied in the 90 minutes.
In extra time, fatigue took its toll and neither team had the physical strength to go look for it.
Thus, everything was decided on penalties and it was San Miguel that celebrated, in a round that was more than attractive for the neutral public, but endless for the protagonists, because they had to kick each other nine per side to define the winner.
Brian Meza missed the last penalty for Douglas and it was Matías Benítez who ended up giving promotion to “Trueno Verde”.
The return to the second category of Argentine Football, after that relegation in 2001, took place at the Platense Stadium, where exactly 26 years ago, in the 1996/1997 season, they had achieved their last promotion to the old Primera Nacional.
And in this way Saint Michael also favored Italian sportsmanwhich thus became the sixth promoted from First C to B along with Hikers, San Martin de Burzaco, Laferrere, Midland y Liniers.