Sol de América beat Sportivo Trinidense 2:1 in the Round of 32 of the Paraguay Cup on Monday evening. The hosts had been struggling to find their rhythm in recent weeks, drawing three of their last five matches before picking up this win. To be fair, nobody expected a straightforward result against a side that had dominated possession in their previous outing.
J. D. Mora Garcia opened the scoring in the tenth minute, a moment that shifted the tone of the game entirely. Sportivo Trinidense responded quickly, with L. Abreu pulling level just eight minutes later. By then, the visitors looked comfortable on the ball, controlling the tempo as you would expect from a team that averages over seventy per cent possession.
The decisive moment came in the fifty-fourth minute when J. Rivarola found the net to put Sol de América ahead. And here's the thing, it wasn't a moment built on sustained pressure. The hosts had been on the receiving end of the majority of attacks, but they refused to go away. Sportivo Trinidense got dragged out of position and paid the price.
The statistics tell a different story from the result. Sportivo Trinidense recorded 136 attacks to 69, had seven shots on target compared to four, and controlled 71 per cent of possession. They created more corners and won more throw-ins too. Yet Sol de América held their nerve and took all three points. Cup football has its own rules, and sometimes the numbers don't match the narrative.
Sol de América advance to the next round with this victory. Sportivo Trinidense, who had won three of their last five fixtures, are now out. The scoreline doesn't reflect the dominance the visitors showed throughout, but the result stands and that is what matters.
