Saprissa beat San Carlos 2:1 in the second round of the Apertura at their home ground on Saturday night. The hosts kept their perfect start alive, while the visitors' struggles continued. And here's the thing — you'd expect a team sitting top of the table to control things, but San Carlos made them work for it.
Yellow cards came early. C. Martinez went off the side at 19 minutes, then J. Brenes followed at 32. Both sides made changes at the break, bringing on G. Castillo Cespedes and M. Elizondo for Saprissa, while San Carlos threw in G. Torres. The game opened up in the second half when N. Williams struck at 65 and added a second three minutes later. To be fair, San Carlos had been keeping it tight until then.
San Carlos finally found a way back into the match. K. Cerdas pulled one back at 83 minutes, and suddenly the away fans had something to cheer about. Brenes came off for A. Guevara at 71, while C. Martinez was replaced by O. Sinclair at 76. The late goal gave the visitors hope, but there wasn't enough time for a comeback. By then, Saprissa had already set up shop.
The result keeps Saprissa at the summit with 18 points from seven games. Six wins and one defeat so far. San Carlos sit sixth with just nine points — three victories and four losses. The gap between them is nine points, and the visitors are running out of games where they can afford to drop them.
Saprissa's recent form shows two losses among their last five, both against Herediano. They've bounced back since then with three wins in a row. San Carlos lost their last outing 3:0 to Escorpionés Belén and have only managed one draw since April. This result means the hosts extend their unbeaten run to seven matches, while the visitors extend their winless streak to five.