Buenos Aires, Feb 15 (NA) -- Instituto defeated Central Córdoba 2-0 in a match decided in the first half and played at the Juan Domingo Perón stadium, for the fifth round of the 2026 Apertura Tournament. According to the Argentine News Agency, forwards Matías Fonseca and Alex Luna, from a penalty, were the scorers for the Córdoba team. With the victory, Instituto earned its first win of the year and reached four points, placing twelfth in Zone A, while the 'Ferrocarrilario' is one position behind with the same number of points. In the next round, 'Gloria' will receive Atlético Tucumán on Thursday, February 19 at 19:30, while the team coached by Lucas Pusineri will host Tigre on Saturday 21 from 21:30. Instituto opened the scoring with their first dangerous attack in the third minute, with a cross from the left flank by Diego Sosa that reached the far post and was headed in by the forward Matías Fonseca, completely unmarked inside the small area. In the 19th minute, a pass to the left found Sosa, who shot on the run from the edge of the area and hit the crossbar. In the 31st minute, a handball by defender Alejandro Maciel inside the area generated a penalty, which Alex Luna converted into a goal with a low shot, opening his right foot. The first chance of the second half came from the home team in the 13th minute, with a cross from the right and a 'pigeon's head' header by defender Fernando Alarcón, which went very close to the right post of goalkeeper Alan Aguerre. In the 34th minute, midfielder Matías Vera took advantage of a rebound outside the area and hit a clean shot with the outside of his right foot, which hit the left post of goalkeeper Manuel Roffo and went wide. Match Summary: Apertura Tournament 2026. Zone A. Round 5. Instituto 2 - 0 Central Córdoba. Stadium: Juan Domingo Perón. Referee: Leandro Rey Hilfer. VAR: Héctor Paletta. Instituto: Manuel Roffo; Fernando Alarcón, Leonel Mosevich, Jonathan Galván; Giuliano Cerato, Gustavo Abregu, Gastón Lodico, Diego Sosa; Jhon Córdoba, Matías Fonseca, Alex Luna. Alex Luna from a penalty (I). Second half substitutions: at the start. Coach: Diego Flores. Central Córdoba: Alan Aguerre; Santiago Moyano, Alejandro Maciel, Facundo Mansilla, Agustín Quiroga; Matías Vera, Tiago Cravero; Alan Laprida, Marco Iacobellis, Horacio Tijanovich; Michael Santos. Coach: Lucas Pusineri. First half goals: 3' Matías Fonseca (I) and 31' Bautista Gerez for Alan Laprida (C); 42' Hernán de la Fuente for Giuliano Cerato (I).
