Atletico Cholo saw off Crvena Zvezda 2-0 in the Apertura round eight clash of the National League on Friday evening. The hosts took all three points despite playing much of the second half with ten men, and the result keeps them in the hunt at the bottom of the table.
Cards arrived early and in quick succession. J. Capeluto and R. Mayorquin both collected yellows in the twentieth minute, and by then it felt like a physical contest from the outset. Mayorquin picked up another booking in the forty-third minute and received his marching orders, leaving the visitors to chase the game from that point on.
Atletico Cholo took the lead in the fifty-fourth minute through J. Quejada, and here's the thing — it came when the visitors were still trying to recover their shape after the red card. The goal settled nerves, and the hosts began to control possession with more confidence. Crvena Zvezda made two changes at half-time, bringing on J. Velasquez and E. Rizo.
L. Ferreira added the second in the eighty-ninth minute, and to be fair, the visitors had been chasing shadows for most of the closing stages. Atletico Cholo made four substitutions in that final quarter, including C. Calix and O. Zamora, trying to see out the result. The yellow cards kept coming — A. Villatoro, J. Padilla, and L. Juarez all received bookings in the closing minutes.
The statistics tell a familiar story. Atletico Cholo enjoyed 58 per cent possession and registered seven shots on target from 144 attacks, while Crvena Zvezda managed five on target from 128 attempts. The visitors had more corners, four to one, but by then the game was effectively decided. Both sides received four yellow cards, though the hosts also had the numerical advantage.
Atletico Cholo remain fifth with seven points from eight games, two wins, one draw and five defeats. Crvena Zvezda sit fourth on nine points, having won twice, drawn three times and lost on three occasions. The result ends a run of poor form for the visitors, who had lost five of their last six matches across all competitions.
