UCV beat Rayo Zuliano 2:1 in the Clausura phase of the First Division on 31 August 2026. The hosts took an early lead through a goal in the twenty-first minute before the visitors found a way back into the game. The match ended with the home side holding on for the three points.
A. Kinsler opened the scoring at the twenty-one-minute mark. The visitors responded with a goal from S. Sosa in the fifty-fourth minute, and Sosa added a second in the sixty-second to put Rayo Zuliano ahead. J. Alegria then pulled UCV level with a goal in the eighty-first minute before scoring again in stoppage time to complete the comeback.
Things got complicated in the first half. A. Jimenez received a yellow card at the twenty-fifth minute and was then sent off at the thirty-ninth, picking up a second yellow in the same incident. Y. Cumana and A. Kinsler both picked up bookings just before half-time, while C. Romero went into the book at the fifty-fifth minute.
The numbers told a story of dominance without conversion. UCV held 74 per cent of possession and registered 16 shots, six on target. Rayo Zuliano had only one shot on target from three attempts. The hosts created seven big chances; the visitors managed one. Many shots with two goals means chances went begging.
UCV sat fourth in the table with 23 points from 13 games, while Rayo Zuliano remained eleventh on 14 points. The home side had lost their last three matches before this win, the visitors had won two of their last five. This result put some distance between the two sides in the standings.
