Alajuelense made light work of Herediano with a comfortable 3-0 victory in the third round of the Apertura phase on Monday night. The visitors took all three points at their opponent's ground, extending a run that includes a win over Herediano earlier in the season. Herediano remain rooted to the bottom of the table with just two points from seven matches.
R. Parkins opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, finding space to finish after some probing work from the visitors. Herediano's R. Cisneros went into the book for a challenge shortly before half-time, and the hosts made a change at the break with E. Bravo coming on. J. Lucumi doubled the advantage in the 67th minute, and strangely enough he was then substituted himself in the same minute.
K. Michel added a third goal in the 84th minute to seal matters, while D. Paz and C. Perez picked up yellow cards for Herediano in the second half. The visitors made several changes as well, bringing on S. Rodriguez and C. Borges as the game wound down. And here's the thing — the visitors had nothing to do all evening after that early strike, controlling the tempo without real pressure.
Both sides registered 59 shots on target in total, with Herediano edging the attack count at 118 to 115. The visitors were more clinical, though Herediano's shots accuracy of 0.5 suggests they created some quality chances without converting. By then the result was never really in doubt, and the statistics merely confirmed what was visible on the pitch.
The defeat leaves Herediano in 10th place with no wins and five losses from seven games. Alajuelense move into 5th with 11 points, building on recent victories including a 3-1 win over Dirianzen. Cup football has its own rules, and this result feels like a statement from the visitors about their ambitions this season.