Plaza Amador moved further clear at the summit of the Panama League Apertura with a 4-2 victory over Alianza in the fourth round on Saturday. The hosts had led twice through E. Rose and E. Davis, but the visitors took control before half-time and never looked back. It was a result that left Alianza still second on 27 points, now eight behind their nearest challengers.
The opening exchanges belonged to Alianza, who struck first through E. Rose in the fourteenth minute. They doubled their advantage when E. Davis found the net in the fortieth, and for a while it seemed the home side might edge away. By then, Y. Murillo had already picked up a yellow card for Plaza Amador in the thirty-seventh minute.
And here's the thing about the second half of the first period — it changed completely. Two goals from Y. Murillo in the forty-fifth and forty-sixth minutes turned the match on its head. C. Rodriguez added a third for the visitors in the forty-third minute, and another strike came in the forty-ninth. B. Walters sealed the advantage with a goal in the fifty-first minute. The home side had played the first half a man down in spirit if not in numbers.
Substitutions came thick and fast after the interval. J. Marengo and A. Galvez were among the first to enter the fray in the forty-sixth minute. E. Rose was withdrawn in the sixtieth, replaced by K. Walters. H. Rios came on for Y. Murillo in the sixty-sixth minute and immediately contributed, scoring in the same minute. He was then replaced by B. Walters in the seventy-fourth minute.
The statistics tell a familiar story — many shots with one goal means chances went begging. Alianza registered only two shots on target against nine for Plaza Amador. Possession was heavily skewed, with the visitors controlling 64 per cent of the ball. The home side managed 130 attacks compared to 146, but the quality of chance-making told the real tale.
The result means Plaza Amador now hold a four-point cushion at the top of the table. They are unbeaten in five across all competitions, having won three and drawn two in that run. Alianza's solitary defeat this season remains their only blemish in 16 league matches, but Saturday's performance raised questions about their consistency.