Atletico Torque Set Back by Late Penalty as Wanderers Snatch Draw in Dramatic Centenario Showdown

There was a sense, as the late afternoon sunlight washed over Estadio Centenario, that Atlético Torque were within touching distance of another routine win—another stride forward in their Clausura campaign. But the Uruguayan capital’s most storied ground has a way of confounding expectations, and on Sunday, a beleaguered Wanderers side conjured a stirring, last-gasp equalizer to earn a 2-2 draw that leaves the top-four hopefuls ruing missed chances and the visitors savoring respite from the foot of the league.

The script, as it unfolded, was a narrative of opportunity grasped, squandered, and—against all odds—rediscovered. Torque, fourth in the table at kickoff and still very much a part of the Clausura title conversation, arrived with momentum: three wins and a draw from their prior five, the lone blemish a narrow defeat at Danubio. Wanderers, by contrast, had spent much of the fall adrift, entering the day mired in 15th, their sole victory a distant memory and their form chart reading more like a requiem than a revival.

Yet from the opening whistle, both sides betrayed their respective scripts. Torque looked to impose structure, controlling the tempo through midfield, yet the Wanderers, perhaps galvanized by the desperate mathematics of survival, answered with industry and no little grit. The first half, for all its endeavor, yielded plenty of probing runs but no breakthrough—an anxious equilibrium that could not hold.

It was after the interval that the contest sparked to life. In the 47th minute, Walter Núñez broke the deadlock for Torque, latching onto a loose ball in the area and rifling home a low finish through bodies. It was a finish that spoke to everything the hosts have been this season: alert, opportunistic, clinical. That lead, however, proved fleeting. Barely three minutes had elapsed before Veglio Bruno drew Wanderers level, capping a swift, incisive move with a powerful strike from the top of the box that left the home support stunned into silence.

As the half wore on, Torque pressed forward, perhaps sensing both the opportunity and the risk that comes with it. Their pressure forced a succession of corners and half-chances, but Wanderers goalkeeper and back line—so often porous in recent weeks—held firm. But discipline faltered late, and in the 83rd minute, Santiago Guzmán’s rash challenge earned him a straight red card, reducing Wanderers to ten men and seemingly handing all initiative back to Torque.

With the clock winding down, and the hosts probing for what would have been a decisive second goal, Wanderers found themselves pinned deep in their half. But as so often happens in matches of consequence, one mistake proved costly. In the final minute of regulation, a clumsy challenge in the area yielded a penalty, and Lima Pablo, bearing the weight of the Wanderers’ season, stepped up and coolly converted. For Torque, the final whistle felt more like a gut punch than a reprieve.

The psychological pendulum swung again: what had looked for so long like three points banked for the hosts was, in an instant, a mere one. With the draw, Torque remain in fourth place with 20 points from 10 matches, a position still sufficient to keep their championship ambitions afloat but suddenly fraught, with momentum arrested and rivals watching keenly.

For Wanderers, the point is precious—a salve for wounds both old and new. Their four-point haul from 10 matches still leaves them deep in relegation danger, but a late equalizer at Centenario, and an end to a five-match losing run, could yet serve as the moment that galvanizes their campaign. The margins are thin at the bottom, and even a single point in such dramatic fashion carries psychological weight. Wanderers’ last head-to-head victory over Torque in the league was months ago, and today’s draw may feel like a win given the odds and the deficit faced with a man down.

Both camps will sift through the debris of a dramatic evening for lessons. For Torque, the mission grows sharper. Dropped points at home against a struggling side are the type of stumbles that can alter the shape of a title chase, especially with recent rivals—Miramar and Cerro Largo—still circling. Their defensive lapses late, compounded by a lack of composure in the closing minutes, will require urgent redress.

Wanderers, meanwhile, will hope that this fighting performance offers a template for survival: discipline, opportunism, and an iron will. Still precarious in their league standing, they have at least proven that late hope is still alive, even when down to ten men and all but written off.

The Clausura campaign is far from over, but as the sun set on Montevideo, both teams left the Centenario with far more questions than answers—and no one feeling entirely satisfied with their share.