Melgar played host to Sport Boys at Estadio de la UNSA on Saturday evening, and the Primera División Clausura Round 10 fixture ended 1:1. Both teams came into the match with different needs — Melgar sitting fourth on 46 points after 27 games, while Sport Boys occupied tenth place with 38 points. The result keeps both sides within touching distance of each other in the table.
Johnny Vidales opened the scoring for the hosts in the forty-first minute, giving Melgar what looked like a comfortable lead before half-time. Sport Boys responded almost immediately after the break, with Hernán Da Campo finding the net in the forty-fifth minute plus four. Christian Cueva picked up a booking just before the interval, and Carlos Zambrano followed suit five minutes into the second half.
By then, Melgar had already established their dominance in possession at 65 per cent and registered 21 shots compared to Sport Boys' five. They completed 525 passes against 290, and their 137 attacks dwarfed the visitors' 59. To be fair, the statistics tell only part of the story — one shot on target from Sport Boys produced a goal, while Melgar's 14 shots off target suggested they paid for a sloppy opening.
The manager made several changes in the second half, bringing on Kevin Minda and Johnny Vidales in the seventy-fourth minute, followed by Jostin Alarcon and Christian Cueva in the seventy-sixth. Sport Boys responded with Carlos Zambrano and Luis Urruti in the ninetieth minute, then brought on Hernán Da Campo in the ninety-second minute. Rolando Diaz received a yellow card late on, adding to the tension as the match wound down.
Melgar created one big chance while Sport Boys managed the same, but the difference in quality showed in the shots inside the penalty area — 16 versus two. The hosts needed more from their attacking dominance, while the visitors rescued a point from limited opportunities. Both teams remain in contention, though Melgar's inability to convert their superiority into victory leaves them wondering what might have been.
