Independiente del Valle claimed a 1:0 victory over Deportivo Cuenca in the Liga Pro regular season, moving further clear at the summit. The match on August 2nd was the 23rd round meeting between sides separated by a considerable gap in ambition and results. Valle remain top of the table on 71 points, while Cuenca sit 12th on 35 after 29 games.
And here's the thing about the opening exchanges — the game settled into its pattern early. By the 20th minute A. Rodriguez had already picked up a yellow card, a sign of how tightly the hosts man-marked their counterpart. Cuenca found themselves pinned back from the first whistle, with Valle controlling space in the middle third.
The decisive moment arrived in the 53rd minute when J. Angulo found the net from a chance created by the hosts' sustained pressure. It was a goal that reflected the match dynamics — Valle had created two big chances against Cuenca's none, and eventually cashed in. Angulo stayed on the pitch until the 67th minute substitution, having done all that was required.
The visitors' hopes evaporated further when P. Boolsen received a red card in the 86th minute. That left Cuenca to survive the closing stages with ten men, though Valle had already done enough. The hosts made several changes in the final quarter, bringing on A. Lopez, A. Rodriguez and others as the result was never really in doubt.
The statistics told the story of a one-sided contest. Valle registered 161 attacks to Cuenca's 48, while their possession figure of 66 per cent showed who dictated the tempo. The hosts completed 553 passes against 256 from the visitors, and their 15 shots compared with a single attempt on target for Cuenca. The goalkeeper saved five shots for the visitors, but none of them were on target.
By then Valle had extended their unbeaten run with three consecutive victories, including wins over Manta, Tecnico Universitario and this result against Cuenca. The victory moves them further clear at the top, while Cuenca's fourth defeat in five matches leaves them searching for consistency. The gap between the sides has never looked wider.