Arab Uni and Veraguas met in the seventh round of the Liga Panama's Apertura on Friday evening, and the hosts came away with a 3:1 win. The result kept Veraguas top of the table, though by a margin that feels thinner than the points suggest.
It started badly for Arab Uni. J. Cifuentes was sent off in the twenty-ninth minute, and by then Veraguas were already looking dangerous. A. Cooper took advantage of the numerical edge and fired home in the thirty-first. M. Munoz added a second three minutes later, and the visitors had the game won inside twenty minutes.
Veraguas made changes at the break, bringing on J. Sagel, S. Wynter and R. Graham all at once. The yellow cards kept coming too — J. Villalobos and R. Graham both went to the referee before the whistle blew.
Arab Uni came back into it after the break. C. Hernandez pulled one back in the seventy-third minute, and suddenly the match had a shape again. Substitutions followed — F. Gomez and E. Ceballos came on, and the hosts began to press.
Then J. Navarro was dismissed in the eighty-sixth minute, and Veraguas were reduced to ten men. J. Jimenez scored a late consolation in stoppage time, but the damage was done.
The statistics tell you what you already knew. Arab Uni had 58 per cent of possession and hit the target seven times, while Veraguas managed three shots on target from 42 per cent possession. Two red cards against Veraguas explains why the final score was tighter than the early dominance suggested.
Veraguas remain first with 25 points from 16 games, but Arab Uni's three points from fifth place with 21 were enough to close the gap slightly. The visitors have nothing to lose now, and that changes how they play.