Guabirá beat Strongest 3-1 at home in the Primera División Apertura round 15 on Friday evening. The result keeps the hosts in sixth place while the visitors remain third in the table. Both sides had been in mixed form going into the fixture, with Guabirá coming off a win over ABC and Strongest having lost 2-1 to Independiente Petrolero.
L. Ursino opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, giving the home side an early advantage. Strongest responded quickly, and R. Ribera equalised just four minutes later. By then the game had settled into a pattern of end-to-end chances, with neither side able to establish clear dominance.
Pedro restored Guabirá's lead with a penalty in the 85th minute, and V. Abrego pulled one back for Strongest with a spot-kick two minutes later. The away side had created more big chances throughout, five to three, but their shot accuracy of 33 per cent meant they could not convert their opportunities.
The statistics tell a familiar story of possession without penetration. Strongest held 56 per cent of the ball and completed 273 passes compared to Guabirá's 193, yet the home side took 18 shots to the visitors' 10. Guabirá's 12 shots on target against five for the away side suggests they were more clinical when it mattered.
Both managers made changes in the second half, with Guabirá bringing on three players around the hour mark and Strongest responding with their own substitutions. The match ended with four yellow cards between them, none of which altered the final outcome.
The result means Guabirá stay on 26 points from 18 games, while Strongest move up to 36 points. The gap between them remains ten spots in the table, and both sides have six games left to reshape their campaigns.