Nacionál claimed a 2-1 victory over Progreso in the Torneo Intermedio, seventh round of the Primera Apertura on Saturday evening. The result leaves the hosts sixteenth points clear of their visitors in the standings.
The match turned on the twenty-ninth minute when A. Ocampo received a red card for Progreso. By then the game had been fairly even, though Nacionál had already seen E. Ancheta booked in the eighteenth. The dismissal changed the complexion of the contest immediately.
M. Gomez opened the scoring just before the break, forty-two minutes in. It was a clinical finish that gave Nacionál the lead they would carry into the second half. Progreso had to reorganise without their dismissed player, and to be fair they tried to keep things tight.
Progreso responded after the break. F. De Leon pulled one back in the seventy-eighth minute, and suddenly the visitors had something to work with. Nacionál brought on M. Juambeltz and T. Veron together at sixty-four, and here's the thing — it was a cautious approach rather than an attacking one.
Gomez restored the two-goal margin in the eighty-ninth minute, completing his brace. The goal was his second of the evening and it effectively ended any hopes of a comeback. M. Gomez had also picked up a yellow card earlier, in the eightieth minute, but he stayed on for the full duration.
Statistics told the story of dominance. Nacionál registered 127 attacks against Progreso's 61, and held 74 per cent possession. The hosts took ten corners and shot twice on target, while Progreso managed only one corner and two shots on target. The red card had left the visitors chasing shadows for large stretches.
The result moves Nacionál further from the bottom half, while Progreso remain rooted in sixteenth place. The hosts sit on 42 points from 27 games, with 13 wins and 11 losses. Progreso have 22 points, six victories and 17 defeats to their name.
