Peru round-up: Sporting Cristal win, controversy between Comerciantes and Huancayo

Sporting Cristal 1-0 Sport Rosario

Sporting Cristal beat Sport Rosario 1-0 at the Alberto Gallardo as they were expected to. This win marked the end of a six game winless run in all competitions. The scoreline was narrow and Cristal missed a lot of good chances. Sport Rosario also got forward a few times but despite that, Cristal were never in any real danger of conceding. Los Cerveceros took the lead in the 22nd minute with Cristian Ortiz scoring from about 40 yards out. Aside from his goal, Ortiz was a constant threat on his side. Left back Jair Cespedes also had a very good game as he did well going forward and contributing to attacks.

Alianza Atletico 2-2 Universidad San Martin de Porres

The honours were even at Matute on Sunday afternoon as Alianza Atletico played out a draw with Universidad San Martin. The first goal came from Alianza Atletico in the 23rd minute through Jorge Bazan who managed to squeeze the shot through a defender and the keeper. Twnety minutes later in the 41st minute, San Martin managed to tie it up. A through ball was won by Koichi Aparicio who lifts it up over to Luis Alvarez who gets the tap in and equalizes for USMP. In the 63rd minute, Roberto Jimenez put Alianza Atletico back in the lead. Finding open space, he received a pass and placed it into the bottom right corner. Forward Alexander Succar won a penalty in the 82nd minute and managed to tuck his chance away to equalize yet again. Both teams felt the match could be won but overall they shouldn’t be too disappointed with the draw.

Juan Aurich 0-1 Alianza Lima

Due to issues with flooding in Chiclayo, Juan Aurich played their away game at Alianza Lima’s home ground. The condition was that all the money from attendances would go to Juan Aurich and not La Blanquiazul. Alianza managed to win the game with Luis Aguiar adding another goal to his tally. He’s currently the league’s top scorer with 7 goals. In the 43rd minute, Aguiar took a chance with a bit of open space and shot it in the bottom left corner to put La Blanquiazul in the lead. As expected, the match did not end in a smashing like the last time. With this, Alianza move up to 2nd, 1 point behind Universidad Tecnica Cajamarca.

Comerciantes Unidos 2-1 Sport Huancayo

Sport Huancayo continued with their away struggles as they lost 2-1 to Comerciantes Unidos in Cutervo. The game was very even. Comerciantes looked dangerous going up front but Huancayo showed more technical ability. The home side took the lead after Jeremias’ Bogado’s free kick hit the bar. Luis Mayme got the rebound and put it in the bottom right corner to put his team into the lead. The second goal of the match came from Colombian Carlos Preciado. Left back Cord Cleque put in a cross and Preciado took advantage of Exar Rosales being poorly positioned on his line and headed in for the equalizer. Jeremias Bogado found the winner in the 60th minute. Having won the ball back after keeper Joel Pinto made a save for Huancayo, he placed his shot into the bottom right corner. In the 90th minute, Comerciantes keeper Exar Rosales and Sport Huancayo forward Antonio Meza-Cuadra were both sent off. Meza-Cuadra was rightly sent off for not taking his hands off the ball when Rosales had a hold of it. Exar was wrongly sent off as he was a victim of it and didn’t cause many problems. As even as it was, the scoreline told the story. An even game with the home side being more clinical. It ended in a narrow win for Comerciantes Unidos, which was the fairest result.