Napoli claimed a 2-1 victory over Altah in the Group Stage of USL League One on Saturday evening. The result moves the visitors into contention while leaving the hosts rooted to the bottom half of the table. Altah had taken the lead before half-time, but Napoli turned it on after the break to snatch the win.
J. Acuna gave the home side the advantage in the 45th minute, a moment that seemed to settle the crowd. Then came the turning point: N. Relerford was shown a red card in the 45+2 minute, and Altah were reduced to ten men. The substitution window opened immediately, with S. Higareda and A. Aoumaich brought on for the hosts.
Napoli made their superiority felt, though they did not find the net until the 65th minute when A. Ferrin equalised. The goal shifted momentum decisively, and the visitors began to press with purpose. Altah's manager responded with fresh legs, bringing on O. Lay and C. Bahena Jr in the 70th minute, followed by further changes from both benches.
Sentiment arrived late. N. Likulia struck in the 90+5 minute to restore the lead, then doubled his tally in the 90+6 minute before collecting a yellow card for his celebration. The crowd roared them on, but the damage was done. Three yellow cards were issued to Napoli in the closing stages, a sign of the friction that grew as the final minutes ticked away.
The statistics told a familiar story. Napoli dominated possession at 0.62 to Altah's 0.38, and registered 141 attacks compared with 100. They took 15 shots with eight on target, while Altah managed five on target from nine attempts. The conversion rate was thin: three goals from 24 shots across the two sides.
Altah sit in 10th place with 24 games and 29 points, one match more than Napoli. The visitors are 11th on 26 points from 23 outings. The gap between them is narrowing, and this result suggests both clubs are still chasing something tangible in the group standings.