Fas took all three points away from Cacauatique on Saturday evening, winning 2-0 in the Apertura round 11 of Primera División. The match ended with a late red card for the hosts, but the result was already decided before then. E. Medrano scored both goals for the visitors, and here's the thing — neither strike came from open play chaos. He caught them on the break twice, and that's how matches like this get won.
The first goal came at the 42-minute mark when Medrano found space and finished clinically. Cacauatique had kept knocking on the door up to that point, but their shots went mostly wide. Fas didn't travel to make up the numbers, and you could see that in how they waited for their moments. By then the hosts were starting to look nervous.
The second goal arrived at 78 minutes, another from Medrano, and this time he turned it on. Cacauatique tightened things up after that, but it was too little, too late. At 90+3 minutes they got their red card — an unnecessary booking that ended their hopes of a comeback. To be fair, they'd already let the game flow away from them.
The statistics tell you something about possession, but not everything. Cacauatique had 49 per cent of the ball and 148 attacks, but only one shot on target. Fas managed 51 per cent possession with 133 attacks and two shots on target, two of which found the net. Many shots with one goal means chances went begging — and here Cacauatique had even more shots and fewer chances.
We'd called for an away win before kick-off, 55 per cent confidence. It materialised, and it wasn't a surprise. Fas are running out of games to drop points, sitting top with 20 points from 10 matches. Cacauatique remain 11th with just seven points, and their recent form — losses to Inter and Platanés — doesn't inspire much faith.
The gap between them now stretches from four points to seven, though that's not the main story. The main story is that Fas held their nerve, scored when it mattered, and didn't panic when the red card came. Cacauatique have a long way to go to get back on track.