Club Nacional beat Progreso 1:0 in the Clausura third round of the Primera División — Apertura on 23 August. The hosts held firm after going down to ten men, and the result keeps them in sixth place while Progreso remain rooted to sixteenth. And here's the thing — you could argue the match was decided long before anyone scored.
Progreso lost M. Saravia after thirty-one minutes, two yellow cards in quick succession followed by a red. He was replaced by S. Bruschi at thirty-four, and from that point the visitors had to manage without a full outfield player. To be fair, they sat deep and soaked it up, but the gap in quality showed through.
The goal came at the death. M. Silvera found the net in the eighty-ninth minute, and Nacional finally had the game won in the dying seconds. Progreso had pushed for an equaliser, but the hosts sat deep and soaked it up when it mattered most. One mistake ends it, and this time it was Progreso who paid.
Nacional dominated possession at 74 per cent to 26, and registered 93 attacks against 64. They took six shots on target with two finding the mark, while Progreso managed three shots on target with one on target. By then the statistics told their own story — many shots with one goal means chances went begging for both sides.
Nacional move up to sixth place on 26 points from 26 games, while Progreso stay in sixteenth with 19 points. The result ended a run of mixed form for the hosts, who had lost their last two before this win. Progreso's struggle continues, and they still have work to do to climb out of the bottom half.