Sol de América edged Fernando de la Mora 3-2 in the Intermediaria Regular Season on Saturday. The hosts took an early lead before the visitors equalised, then Fernandino's brace put the home side back in front. B. Fernandez pulled one back late on, but F. S. Leguizamon Samudio struck again in the 87th minute to seal the victory.
By then the match had already settled into a rhythm we've seen before. Leguizamon Samudio opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and Fernandino doubled it just six minutes later. To be fair, the visitors responded quickly, but Sol de América kept their structure and didn't panic when Fernando de la Mora levelled.
And here's the thing about this kind of game — it's not decided by possession. The hosts controlled 59 per cent of the ball but that's not what won it. Five shots on target against four tells you where the chances fell. Sol de América had 113 attacks to 105, but the difference came in how they used them.
The home side were caught in possession a few times, but they recovered well. Three yellow cards to four for the visitors showed where the tension sat. Fernando de la Mora won more free kicks — 16 to 10 — but that didn't translate into clear openings.
We'd backed Sol de América to win at 53 per cent confidence, and the result confirmed that reading. They'd won three of their last five matches, including a 2-1 victory over Sportivo Trinidadense, while the visitors had dropped points in four of their previous six outings.
The gap between fifth and eleventh now stretches to nine points. Sol de América move further clear of the chasing pack, while Fernando de la Mora's hopes of closing the distance took a hit. The table goes out of the window in these games, but the result still matters.