LDU Kito met Deportivo Cuenca at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado on Saturday evening. The match in the Ecuadorian Liga Pro Regular Season concluded in a 1-1 draw after ninety minutes of play. It was a fixture that promised movement in the table, but ended with the points split between the two sides.
The home side controlled the tempo early on, pressing for an opening advantage. Deyverson converted a penalty in the 52nd minute to give LDU Kito the lead, and they held firm until the visitors struck back. Eddie Guevara found the net for Deportivo Cuenca in the 73rd minute to level the score. Patricio Boolsen had picked up a yellow card before half-time, and Ruddy Mina followed his teammate into the book shortly after the break.
The statistics tell a story of dominance without reward for the hosts. LDU Kito enjoyed 68 per cent possession and launched 127 attacks, but their shot accuracy sat at just 22 per cent. They registered 15 attempts with only four on target, whereas the visitors were far more efficient, hitting seven targets from eleven shots. Both teams created one big chance, but the game was decided by moments rather than volume.
By then, the result kept LDU Kito in fifth place with 46 points from 30 games, while Deportivo Cuenca remained in twelfth with 36. The gap between them remained eight points, and this draw did little to change the hierarchy of the mid-table clash. It wasn't a collapse for the hosts, but the result felt heavy given the statistical superiority they displayed.
We had backed the hosts for victory with a reasonable degree of confidence going into the weekend. And here's the thing, the match didn't break for them in the moments that counted. The visitors held their defensive shape and punished the lack of precision in the final third when it mattered most.
The clean-sheet run came to an end for both goalkeepers, who made six and three saves respectively. LDU Kito will look to bounce back in the next round, while Deportivo Cuenca will take the point as a solid away result in a tough away trip.