Resilient Cerro Largo Halts Boston River’s Charge in Four-Goal Draw, Rekindling Hopes at Ubilla

It was a contest both vivid and volatile, as Cerro Largo and Boston River collided in a 2-2 draw at the Estadio Arquitecto Antonio Eleuterio Ubilla on Saturday night—a result as taut as the league table itself, and as revealing of character as any in the lengthy Uruguayan campaign.

For Cerro Largo, eighth in the standings and battered by three consecutive defeats, this was a night demanding both resolve and reinvention. The home side answered the call emphatically in the first half, recasting their recent narrative of missed opportunity. By the interval, the visitors from Montevideo—fourth place, with visions of the summit in their eyes—found themselves staring at a deficit and a daunting road back.

The opener, a moment of clinical execution, arrived in the 34th minute. Maximiliano Añasco, finding a seam in Boston River’s back line, snapped a composed finish past the outstretched gloves of the keeper. A collective exhale swept the stands; this was a Cerro Largo side unbowed by recent history, intent on seizing momentum at home.

Ten minutes later, with the first half ebbing toward its conclusion, Alan Di Pippa doubled the lead for Cerro Largo. Di Pippa, shimmering with intent at the edge of the penalty area, unleashed a powerful strike that curled beyond the desperate grasp of Boston River’s last line. At 2-0, Ubilla pulsed with possibility. This was more than a scoreline—it was a statement from a squad that had scored just twice in their previous three outings.

But as has so often been the case in this campaign, Boston River exhibited a stubborn refusal to accept fate. Emerging from the tunnel with evident urgency, the visitors halved the deficit seven minutes into the second half. Agustin Anello, the club’s attacking talisman and scorer of a September hat trick, struck with characteristic poise in the 52nd minute. His goal—rooted in anticipation, finished with precision—reanimated the contest and set the stage for further drama.

The equalizer was not long in coming, and the circumstances spoke to Boston River’s growing ascendancy. In the 62nd minute, Baltasar Barcia bundled home after a scramble in the box, capitalizing on a rare lapse in Cerro Largo’s organization. In just ten second-half minutes, a two-goal cushion vanished, replaced by a powder-keg tension befitting teams with much to play for.

Tempers simmered as the final act unfolded, and discipline wavered. In the 79th minute, Boston River’s Andrés Romero was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge—the type of mistake that can undo a night’s work in an instant. Reduced to ten, Boston River were compelled to protect a hard-won point, sacrificing attacking intent for defensive resilience in the waning stages.

For all the late fury—set pieces launched into crowded boxes, desperate clearances, fleeting counterattacks—neither side yielded another goal. At the final whistle, it was Cerro Largo 2, Boston River 2: a result that both teams may come to view with equal parts regret and relief.

The draw leaves Boston River perched in fourth position, three points shy of the leaders with a record of five wins, four draws, and but a single defeat through ten matches. Their recent run—just one win in five, with three draws and a solitary loss—reflects both resilience and a nagging inability to convert stalemate into supremacy.

Cerro Largo, meantime, stay rooted in eighth, but this display—full of fight, humility, and flashes of attacking verve—offers a platform for renewal. For a club that had suffered three losses on the bounce, including stinging defeats to both Nacional and Peñarol, and an early cup exit to Tacuarembó, a night like this may be remembered as the beginning of a course correction. Maximiliano Añasco and Alan Di Pippa, chief architects of the first half’s flourish, will be central to any revival.

Their previous head-to-head encounters have often tilted toward tense, low-scoring affairs. Tonight’s meeting, marked by momentum swings and an untimely dismissal, delivered more incident and intrigue than most—a microcosm of the league’s unpredictable rhythm.

Looking ahead, both sides face pivotal tests. Boston River must arrest their slide if they are to sustain a credible bid for continental qualification, especially with the table tightening above and below them. For Cerro Largo, the challenge is simpler in conception but no less daunting: to translate the raw spirit and quality glimpsed tonight into the consistency demanded by a league season entering its critical phase.

Saturday’s draw, then, was more than a split of points. It was a reaffirmation: of Cerro Largo’s character, of Boston River’s ambitions, and of the enduring, unforgiving drama at the heart of the Uruguayan Clausura.