Cartaginés secured a comfortable 4-1 victory over Escorepiones Belen in the fifth round of the Apertura stage of the First Division. The match took place on August 22, 2026, and the result leaves the visitors sitting second in the table with twelve points from six games. Escorepiones remain ninth with just four points after one win, one draw and four defeats.
R. Montiel gave Cartaginés the lead in the twenty-third minute, and A. Hernandez doubled the advantage before half-time with a goal in the forty-fifth minute plus one. Hernandez scored again in the seventieth minute to stretch the back line further, and then J. Gaete added two late strikes in the seventy-ninth and eighty-fifth minutes to put the game to bed early.
And here's the thing about the statistics — both sides shared possession at fifty per cent, but Cartaginés were clinical with their chances. They registered thirteen shots on target compared to Escorepiones' five, and while the hosts had eighty-two attacks, the visitors managed ninety-six. Shots accuracy favoured the visitors at fifty-seven per cent against forty-five.
The match saw plenty of movement between the substitutions. Escorepiones made four changes in the seventy-second minute alone, bringing on G. M. Morera, J. Quiros, G. Castro and A. Mora. Cartaginés had already shuffled their pack earlier, with R. Montiel and A. Sequeira coming off in the fifty-fourth minute, followed by E. Morales in the fifty-fifth.
To be fair, the discipline record told its own story. Escorepiones ended with one red card and two yellow cards — D. Lopez was sent off in the ninetieth minute — while the visitors picked up five yellows and one red. N. Monge and Tepa both received bookings in the ninety-second minute plus two, and another yellow arrived in the ninety-fourth minute plus four.
By then, the result was never in doubt. Cartaginés' victory keeps them within touching distance of the top, while Escorepiones' struggles continue after a run of losses and draws in recent weeks. They had lost 2-0 to Sporting San José on August 18 and drew 0-0 with Pérez-Zeledón five days earlier, before this defeat extended their difficult run.