San Marcos de Arica and Deportes Iquique played out a 1-1 draw in the Primera B regular season on Saturday. The result keeps both sides in the middle of the table as the campaign reaches its midway point.
B. Garrido opened the scoring in the 55th minute, giving the hosts a lead they would not hold. A. Barboza responded with a late equaliser in stoppage time, but his celebration was cut short when he received a red card just two minutes later. The match then descended into chaos.
Four dismissals came in quick succession during the final moments. A. Barboza, L. Troncoso, R. Saracho and A. Venezia were all sent off between the 90+12th and 90+14th minutes. To be fair, the game had been reasonably controlled until then, with only one yellow card shown to A. Ramos in the 30th minute.
The statistics tell a story of dominance without conversion. San Marcos registered 146 attacks against 89 for the visitors, while holding 56 per cent possession. They produced ten shots on target compared to Iquique's six, yet both sides could only find the net once. Things came to a head in the closing stages when the game opened up.
Both managers made changes in an attempt to shift momentum. San Marcos brought on E. Benavides, C. Gonzalez, T. Jones, B. Sagredo, D. Tello and G. Cubillos at various points. Deportes Iquique had fewer substitutions available, which may have limited their options when chasing the game.
The draw leaves San Marcos de Arica ninth on 24 points from 24 games, with eight wins, nine draws and seven defeats. Deportes Iquique remain 12th on 25 points, their record reading five wins, ten draws and nine losses. Neither side moved, and neither fell further behind.