Sportivo Luqueño edged past Rubio Ñú 2:1 in the Clausura stage seven contest at Estadio Feliciano Cáceres on Thursday evening. The hosts moved up to 10th in the table with three points, while the visitors remained rooted at 12th on just one point from three games. And here's the thing — this wasn't a match decided by dominance, but by those few moments that separate outcomes.
Marcelo Perez opened the scoring in the 39th minute, catching Rubio Ñú off guard before the break. Cristian Núñez picked up a booking shortly after, and both sides made double changes at the interval. Kevin Paredes equalised for the visitors in the 50th minute, and Óscar Ruiz restored the lead just three minutes later. By then, the tempo had shifted entirely.
The statistics tell a curious story. Both sides held 50 per cent possession, yet Rubio Ñú registered 116 attacks to Sportivo's 85, with seven shots on target compared to four. The away side pulled ahead in corners too, 5 to 2. Yet Sportivo held their nerve when it mattered, and the result reflects that composure rather than volume.
Substitutions came thick and fast after the second goal. Sportivo brought on Marcelo Perez, Facundo Wiechniak, Kevin Paredes and Cristian Núñez in quick succession at the 59th minute. Rubio Ñú responded with Estiven Pérez and Óscar Ruiz at the 64th and 70th. The yellow cards accumulated toward the end — Jonathan Ramos and Brian Blasi for the visitors, Giovanni Bogado and Mauricio Roldán for the hosts.
Sportivo's recent form had been tricky, with defeats to Nacional Asunción and Libertad in their last three outings. Rubio Ñú had drawn with Sportivo Trinidense and lost heavily to Olimpia. This result gives the home side a cushion, but the gap remains narrow. To be fair, neither side looked like running away with anything.
