Sporting Escaldes hosted Ordino in the opening round of the 1st Division Regular Season on Saturday, but the visitors took all three points with a 2-1 victory. The match opened with Sporting striking first, then Ordino responded before taking the lead late on. By then the complexion of the game had shifted entirely.
Sporting Escaldes burst out of the blocks, scoring within the opening minute and doubling their advantage ten minutes in. The home side looked comfortable, playing with freedom and confidence. And here's the thing — they never expected Ordino to come back from that.
The match grew increasingly cagey as Ordino pushed for an equaliser. Yellow cards began to accumulate, with five booked before half-time alone. To be fair, the tempo dropped as both sides grew nervous about committing fouls. The referee was busy, showing cards at 25, 27, 29, 37 and 43 minutes.
Ordino waited patiently, and in the 81st minute they finally broke through. The away side had been out of sight for most of the match, but they refused to accept defeat. Sporting Escaldes had played well enough to win, but they could not hold on when it mattered most.
The result leaves Sporting in ninth place with no points from one game, while Ordino sit second with three. The standings are early, but the gap tells its own story — one win separates these two Andorran sides already.
Sporting came into this season after a heavy 1-5 defeat to Santa Coloma in January and a 0-2 loss to Esperanca d'Andorra in May. Ordino have shown more resilience, with a 2-2 draw against Esperanca and a 1-0 victory over Santa Coloma in their recent fixtures. By then they had already built something different.