Tudelano Stages Second-Half Comeback to Stun Sestao River at Las Llanas

BILBAO — In the unforgiving arithmetic of Segunda División RFEF football, three minutes can be the difference between validation and ruin. Tudelano discovered this Sunday afternoon at Estadio Las Llanas, where they transformed a halftime deficit into a 2-1 victory that extended their unbeaten league run and left Sestao River clutching the ashes of their perfect home record.

The visitors had signaled their intentions early, breaking through in the 10th minute with a clinical finish that silenced the home faithful and established the rhythm that would define the opening period. For 39 minutes, Sestao River chased shadows and searched for answers against a Tudelano side that had rediscovered its winning formula following last month's setback at Utebo.

But football's pendulum swings with ruthless impartiality. Four minutes into the second half, Sestao River found their equalizer, and suddenly Las Llanas erupted with the kind of fervor that can lift a team or, as events would prove, expose them to the cruelest of counterblows. The hosts had barely finished celebrating when Tudelano delivered their knockout punch in the 52nd minute, restoring their advantage with surgical precision.

What followed was 38 minutes of mounting desperation from Sestao River, a team that had entered the afternoon having conceded exactly zero defeats through their opening four fixtures. Their unbeaten start—two wins, three draws—had been built on defensive solidity and measured patience. Both virtues abandoned them when they needed them most.

For Tudelano manager, this victory represented more than three points. It was vindication. After dropping their only league defeat of the season at Utebo on September 28, where they conceded three goals in a humbling performance, his side had responded with back-to-back 1-0 victories over Mutilvera and now Sestao River. The margins have been slender, but in Spain's fourth tier, character matters as much as craft.

The loss marks a sobering inflection point for Sestao River, whose perfect record dissolved into their first defeat of the campaign. They had arrived as one of just three unbeaten teams remaining in Group 2, their defensive record a source of quiet pride. They'd kept clean sheets against Real Zaragoza II and Ejea, absorbed pressure in draws against Deportivo Alavés II and Náxara, and appeared destined for a steady climb up the table.

Instead, they now find themselves in seventh place with nine points, their cushion over the relegation conversation suddenly less comfortable than it appeared a week ago. More troubling still: the manner of defeat. Conceding twice in three second-half minutes suggests not tactical failure but mental fragility, the kind of vulnerability that opposition managers circle in red ink.

Tudelano, meanwhile, ascends to fifth place with 10 points from five matches, their 3-1-1 record establishing them as legitimate contenders in a congested Group 2 where the margins between triumph and mediocrity remain razor-thin. Their three victories—over Eibar II, Mutilvera, and now Sestao River—have all come by a single-goal margin, testament to their ability to grind out results even when brilliance eludes them.

The visitors' defensive resilience proved decisive. After Sestao River's equalizer threatened to shift momentum irreversibly, Tudelano absorbed the pressure and delivered the kind of immediate response that separates pretenders from genuine playoff aspirants. Their ability to protect a lead in hostile territory, especially after being pegged back, speaks to a team that understands the pragmatic realities of fourth-tier football.

For Sestao River, the road ahead demands introspection. Five matches into the campaign, they've accumulated nine points—a respectable return—but surrendered their perfect record in front of their own supporters. The psychological implications of that three-minute collapse will linger. Whether they respond with renewed determination or continue to leak points will define their season.

Tudelano, unburdened by such doubts, can now approach their next fixture with the swagger that comes from winning away from home. In Segunda División RFEF, where financial disparities shrink and every match carries existential weight, the ability to steal points on hostile ground separates the playoff contenders from the also-rans.

Sunday's evidence suggests Tudelano belongs in the former category. Sestao River now faces the uncomfortable task of proving they haven't already slipped into the latter.