Deportivo Madriense secured a 3-1 win over Ciudad de Bolívar in the Primera Nacional's Regular Season round 28 on Saturday evening. The hosts took all three points to move further clear in their push up the table, having already been tipped for victory before kickoff. We had called for the home side at 56 per cent confidence, and that assessment proved accurate.
A. Gonzalez opened the scoring in the twenty-seventh minute, giving the home supporters something to cheer. N. Solis doubled the advantage before half-time, firing home in the forty-second. By then the visitors were already on the back foot, and the momentum was firmly in Madriense's favour.
Everything shifted in the forty-fifth minute when B. Quintana received a red card for the visitors. The dismissal came just before the interval, leaving Ciudad de Bolívar to play the second half with ten men. Four substitutions were made on the restart, including C. Machado, J. Cosi, A. Carrion and G. Sanchez, but the numerical disadvantage told from the outset.
L. Silba restored the two-goal margin in the seventy-first minute, and the home side could have added more. The match looked settled until the final moments, when an unnamed player struck in the ninety-third minute. That late goal put the game to bed early, though the visitors did earn a yellow card in the ninety-fourth.
The statistics told a familiar story. Madriense dominated possession at sixty-six per cent, while the away side managed only thirty-four. Both teams registered seven shots on target, but the home side created more chances with 133 attacks compared to 90. The visitors paid for a sloppy opening and never recovered.
The result moves Madriense further clear in fifth place with 43 points from 27 games. Ciudad de Bolívar remain seventh on 38 points, five behind their hosts. The home side's recent form has been mixed, but this performance showed they can raise the tempo when they need to.
What matters here is not the possession or the shot count, but the moment in the forty-fifth minute. One red card changed the complexion of the entire match, and Madriense made no mistake after that. The table goes out of the window in these games, but tonight the hosts proved they deserve to be where they are.