Arabe Unido hold on for late winner against Herrera
Arabe Unido beat Herrera 2-1 in the tenth round of Panama's Liga Panameña de Fútbol Apertura on Friday evening. The home side took the lead through J. Villalobos in the seventeenth minute before Herrera fought back after D. Bernal was sent off in the sixty-seventh minute. J. C. Cox Goods equalised for the visitors in the seventieth, but R. Collymore scored a stoppage-time winner to keep Arabe Unido's unbeaten run at five matches.
Villalobos opened the scoring early and the home side kept knocking on the door. Herrera dragged out of position at times and could not find a way back into the game after Bernal's dismissal. The visitors had nothing to do all evening in the first half, and their defensive structure broke down when they were reduced to ten men. Cox Goods marked his appearance with a goal, but it was not enough.
Arabe Unido made three changes around the half-hour mark, bringing on J. De Gracia, S. Nunez and F. McClean. Herrera responded with two substitutions at sixty-one minutes, introducing J. Betegon and R. Villarreal in an attempt to find an equaliser. The away side pushed forward but could not break through a home defence that tightened things up after the red card.
The statistics tell you everything you need to know about this match. Arabe Unido dominated with sixty-six percent possession and seventy-seven attacks compared to sixty-three for the visitors. They registered four shots on target against four as well, but their advantage in territorial control was decisive. Herrera managed only one corner all evening.
The result moves Arabe Unido closer to the top half of the table. They sit fifth with twenty-one points from sixteen games, six wins and three draws. Herrera remain in sixth place on eight points, still searching for their first victory of the season. The away side lost six of their last five matches before this defeat, and the run shows no sign of stopping.
