Sporting Cristal took three points from their visit to Estadio 25 de Noviembre, edging UCVM Moquegua 2-1 in the Clausura phase of Peru's First Division. The visitors opened the scoring early through Santiago González in the sixth minute, then saw R. Chipao equalise before Miguel Araujo restored the lead just before the half-hour mark. And here's the thing — Sporting Cristal held firm despite a late goal being cancelled out by video review.
Brayan Angulo could have doubled Moquegua's advantage when he stepped up for a penalty in the fifteenth minute, only to see his effort saved. The hosts missed their best chance to stay level and had to chase the game from that point. To be fair, Sporting Cristal's goalkeeper was kept busy and made five saves to keep his side in it.
Both sides made changes as the match wore on, with Moquegua bringing on Michael Hoyos in the fifty-ninth minute and Luis Iberico at seventy-three. The hosts made a double substitution in the eighty-third, bringing on Agustín Álvarez and Leandro Sosa, while Sporting Cristal responded with their own changes. A fourth straight win would have been nice, but this was enough.
Statistics showed a fairly even contest. Both teams completed 337 and 335 passes respectively, with possession split at half-half. Moquegua registered six shots on target to Sporting Cristal's two, yet the visitors took the points. Shots accuracy was 29 per cent for the hosts against 20 per cent for the guests — the numbers tell you chances went begging.
By then, the result meant Sporting Cristal moved closer to the upper half of the table, sitting tenth with 35 points from 26 games. Moquegua remained in sixteenth place with 25 points, their recent form showing three defeats in four matches before this draw. The goal difference speaks for itself — Sporting Cristal can raise the tempo when they need to, and Moquegua have work to do.