Sant-Ana claimed a 2:1 win over Guadalupe in the Liga Ascenso regular season, extending their unbeaten run to six matches and keeping them in second place with 15 points. The hosts had started the game with confidence, coming off back-to-back victories, but Guadalupe were not a side to take lightly sitting in twelfth. And here's the thing — we had given the visitors a 59 per cent chance of winning, but the match took a different turn.
Guadalupe took the lead at the 23-minute mark, catching Sant-Ana's defence off guard. To be fair, the visitors moved the ball well in the opening exchanges, but the hosts responded and levelled before the interval. The game looked even-keeled until the 57th minute, when a second yellow card saw a Guadalupe player sent off. That changed everything.
With ten men, the visitors switched off at the back and Sant-Ana made them pay. The equaliser came six minutes after the dismissal, and then the hosts snatched the winner in stoppage time at 90+5. By then, Guadalupe had nothing left to offer and bottled it in the final moments. A match that could have gone either way turned into a routine victory once the red card arrived.
The statistics told the story of a team controlling its destiny. Sant-Ana enjoyed 55 per cent possession and registered 142 attacks compared to 123 for the visitors, though Guadalupe managed seven corners to three. The hosts had six shots on target against five for the visitors, and with the numerical advantage, they did not need to press for much more.
The result leaves Sant-Ana in second place with six games played, five wins and a single defeat. Guadalupe remain in twelfth with seven matches under their belt, one win, two draws and four losses, sitting on five points. The visitors had hoped to climb away from the bottom half, but the red card and late collapse ensured that ambition stayed out of reach.
