Apertura 2013 Week 14 Wrap: Guaraní beat Olimpia in thriller, Nacional open up 14 point gap

We should probably save us the time of sitting through anymore matches in this cold snap, the league is over isn’t it? Nacional went to Tuyucuá and beat their closest rivals Libertad 1-0 to open up a 14 point gap. They’ve been so efficient this season and once again relied on Justo Villar in goal who had an outstanding game. Libertad will feel aggreived at the goal wrongly disallowed for offside but we shouldn’t let it take away from the great side Gustavo Moringio has set up.

Once again it was Marcos Melgarejo who got on the scoresheet, he has been an integral part of this team on the verge of winning the championship.

Olimpia and Guaraní was a great game, end-to-end stuff with the aurinegro coming out on top against a team full of rested players. That said, Tanque Ferreyra’s two-goal performance for Olimpia must have Almeida scratching his head ahead of the game in Rio de Janeiro.

I went to the game with a group of foreigners enjoying the Paraguayan football experience for the first time and Joel Chury, co-creator of the Why Paraguay? website, made this short video about the game and Paraguayan football in general.

Another big winner with Nacional and Guarani was Cerro Porteño who now have three straight wins, they are on good form at the moment.

Week 14 Results: Cerro de Franco 1-3 Cerro Porteño; Olimpia 2-3 Guarani; Libertad 0-1 Nacional; Capiatá 3-4 Rubio Ñu; Luque 0-0 General Díaz; Carapeguá 1-1 Sol de América

Week 15 Fixtures (All 22 May 2013)

Sol de América vs General Díaz, Luis Alfonso Giagni, Villa Elisa, 15.00 (20:00 BST)
Carapeguá vs Cerro de Franco, Municipal de Carapeguá, Carapeguá, 15.00 (20:00 BST)
Nacional vs Capiatá, Defensores del Chaco,  Asunción, 15.00 (20:00 BST) TV
Guaraní vs Sportivo Luqueño, Rogelio Livieres, Asunción, 18.00 (23:00 BST)
Cerro Porteño vs Libertad, General Pablo Rojas, Asunción, 18.20 (23:20 BST) TV

Apertura 2013 Week 13 Wrap: Nacional unstoppable as Cerro Porteño click into gear

Following on from last week and the two big winners are Nacional and Cerro Porteño once again, the Barrio Obrero duo registered 3-goal winning margins as the Academia look red hot favourites to take the Apertura title. Olimpia and Libertad managed wins away from home to keep their points totals respectable thinking ahead to Copa Libertadores qualification.

We start at La Olla where Cerro closed a tumultuous week on the best possible note – the players, still unpaid and now without senior figure Roberto Nanni who had his contract ripped up for speaking out, were impeccable in their on field performance. Jonathan Fabbro looked close to his best, scoring one while being involved in the other two and the captain Julio Dos Santos also found himself on the scoresheet. Carapeguá continue to struggle outside of their home city.

The previous evening and Nacional were freescoring once again, this time hitting four past Cerro de Franco with Julian Benítez (who else) adding two to his tally for the season. He was one of five players inisde the opposition penalty box as he slotted home the opener, a clear indication of the confidence of Moringio’s side at the moment. It was a fantastic performance and only a super-slump can see the title slip now.

In Itaguá it was time for Olimpia to extract revenge on General Díaz who had famously beaten them in Para Uno earlier this year. Herminio Miranda says he watches Ronaldinho to improve his free kicks and the central defender had a little bit of the Brazilian about him when he curled in what proved to be the winner on 18 minutes. More of the same against Tigre on Thursday is needed.

WEEK 13 RESULTS: General Diaz 0-1 Olimpia, Nacional 4-1 Cerro de Franco, Sol 2-2 Luque, Guarani 1-1 Capiata, Cerro Porteño 3-0 Carapeguá, Rubio Ñu 1-2 Libertad

WEEK 14 FIXTURES: Venues and Kick Off Times to be confirmed on Monday evening

Apertura 2013: Week 12 Wrap and Week 13 Fixtures

There was a total goal-fest this week with 22 strikes coming at an average of 3.6 goals per game! The thriller was in Sajonia last night, Olimpia went 3-1 up only to be pegged back by a perserverant Luque – it needed Arnaldo Castorino’s acrobatics late on to decide the game in El Decano’s favour. Both Cerro Porteño and Nacional won comfortably, the former with their biggest win of the year (4-0 vs Sol) and the latter turning on the style late on to move 11 points clear (0-3 vs Carapeguá).

Guaraní sprang a surprise in Tuyucuá by beating Libertad, the Guma’s first league defeat at home in 19 matches. It keeps the critics off Diego Alonso’s back and the aurinegro still in with a good chance of Libertadores qualification albeit at this early stage.

General Díaz still can’t win and the draw with Capiatá keeps the two promoted teams neck-and-neck. Rubio Ñu finally won a game thanks to Hugo Lusardi’s winner, the 5 ft 5 in midfielder is making a huge impact and now has three goals in three games.

Here is a round-up of all the goals from the weekend.

WEEK 12 RESULTS: Cerro Porteño 4-0 Sol de América; Cerro de Franco 1-2 Rubio Ñu; Deportivo Capiatá 1-1 General Díaz; Libertad 1-2 Guaraní; Olimpia 4-3 Sportivo Luqueño; Carapeguá 0-3 Nacional

WEEK 13 FIXTURES

General Díaz vs Olimpia (TV)
Juan Canuto Pettengill, Itaguá
11/05/2013; 17:00 (22:00 BST)

Nacional vs Cerro de Franco (TV)
Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
11/05/2013; 19:10 (00:10 BST)

Sol de América vs Sportivo Luqueño
Luis Alfonso Giagni, Villa Elisa
12/05/2013; 15:15 (20:15 BST)

Rubio Ñu vs Libertad
La Arboleda, Asunción
12/05/2013; 15:15 (20:15 BST)

Cerro Porteño vs Carapeguá (TV)
La Olla, Asunción
12/05/2013; 17:30 (22:30 BST)

Guaraní vs Capiatá
Dos Bocas, Asunción
12/05/2013; 18:00 (23:00 BST)

By Ralph Hannah

Week 10 Wrap: Nacional remain top with controversial win, Cerro Porteño surge up table

With the Paraguayan general elections dominating the weekend, the tenth round of games took place on Thursday and Friday with the Libertad vs Luque fixture postponed due to the Gumarelo’s Copa Libertadores match. We were treated to two five-goal thrillers in the televised games, firstly Olimpia fell to Capiatá before the league leaders Nacional grabbed a winner deep into stoppage time to down Sol de América. The other headline is Chiqui Arce’s Cerro Porteño who have now won three straight league games and must be considered dark horses for the title because of their talented squad.

Olimpia vs Capiatá
Para Uno, Asunción
(0-1) 2-3 – Ferreyra, Ortiz; Aranda (og), López (2)

Capiatá certainly save their performances for the big teams, having beaten Cerro Porteño at La Olla they have now added the scalp of Olimpia in Para Uno. Eduardo Aranda inadvertantly put the visitor’s ahead under pressure as he ran towards his own goal but the real turning point was Cristian López’s double strike in two minutes in the second half.

Capiata surprised Olimpia with a famous win – Photo: D10.com.py

Both goals were ferocious left-footed strikes and it meant Capiatá had scored three in the Primera División for the first time ever. Olimpia pulled a goal back late on through Richard Ortiz’s placed finish but it wasn’t enough as they fell to their first defeat in 8 games in all competitions.

Rubio Ñu vs Cerro Porteño
La Arboleda, Asunción
(0-1) 1-2 – Lusardi; Salcedo, Almirón

The first time in a long time the television cameras were in Barrio Trinidad at Rubio Ñu’s ground, but the home team seemed to be suffering from stage fright when they conceded after just ten minutes. Angel Romero’s darting run and shot resulted in the rebound falling to Santiago Salcedo who rediscovered the thrill of scoring for the first time since February 24th.

Hugo Lusardi’s emphatic curler from the edge of the box restored parity and azulgrana fans will have feared that the doubts would creep back into their player’s minds after such a poor run of results in recent weeks. But there is a new found confidence amongst the Barrio Obrero boys and it was a ‘boy’ who grabbed the winner, Miguel Almirón with his first ever senior goal to record another three points.

Nacional vs Sol de América
Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
(2-1) 3-2 – Benítez, Melgarejo, Torales; Mendieta, Goiri

A deserted Defensores del Chaco was treated to a fabulous game of football that didn’t fail to entertain at any point during the 90 minutes. Two fully committed sets of players were involved in an end-to-end match that culminated in a dramatic victory for Nacional.

Julian Benitez has continued his purple patch, opening the scoring with his sixth goal in five games, a back-post header. David Mendieta pulled one back with a sweetly struck shot that swerved past Justo Villar (who had another excellent game in goal). When Marcos Melgarejo put the Academia ahead before halftime I assumed they would push onto win but the Danzarin had other ideas and defender Adalberto Goiri stabbed home an equaliser to put the win in doubt. The victory did come deep into stoppage time, Silvio Torales with great technique to control a looping header with his chest and smashing home before the ball hit the floor. Sol were furious with the referee for the extra time played and his general performance, even Nacional’s president complained afterwards about the refereeing but not about the final result, more vital points in the bag.

ALL THE GOALS FROM WEEK 10

Results: Olimpia 2-3 Capiatá, Rubio Ñu 1-2 Cerro Porteño, General Díaz 1-1 Cerro de Franco, Nacional 3-2 Sol de América, Guaraní 2-1 Carapeguá, Libertad P-P Luque

By Ralph Hannah

Apertura 2013 Week 7 Wrap: Nacional top as General Díaz finally lose, Olimpia in thrilling draw with Carapegua

Only four games played this weekend with Cerro Porteño and Libertad’s Copa Libertadores schedules allowing them to postpone fixtures with Luque and Sol de América respectively. The big game of the weekend was Nacional vs General Díaz and the Academia have moved joint top with the win. Sunday’s televised match was a fantastic draw between Carapeguá and Olimpia down in Paraguarí department littered with golazos.

Nacional vs General Díaz
Defensores del Chaco
(1-0) 1-0 – Julian Benítez

A feisty and combative game with General Diaz true to their physical and ultra-pressing style that had brought five wins from five matches. There were some seriously strong challenges flying around and maybe it is no surprise that the Aguilas ended the game with ten men following Sanabria’s sending off.

Nacional win to go joint top – Photo: Prensa Club Nacional

The only goal of the game was a move of genuine quality just after the half hour, Cesar Cáceres Cañete flicked a long pass onto Ramón Cardozo who returned the ball and ‘Caña’ lifted a perfectly weighted through ball between Díaz’s defenders and onto Julian Benítez who finished for his 4th of the season. Towards the end of the game Daniel Ferreira had the perfect opportunity to equalise from 12 yards but Justo Villar evoked memories of the 2010 World Cup and 2011 Copa América by making a smart penalty stop.

Carapeguá vs Olimpia
Estadio Municipal
(1-0) 2-2 – Pereira, Gonzalez Ferreira; Prono, Bareiro

A beautiful sunny afternoon and what turned out to be a wonderful game of football, in part thanks to both manager’s tactical awareness (Celso Ayala in the first half, Ever Almeida in the second) and both side’s defensive problems. After 90 minutes of pulsating football the draw was a fair reflection of this meeting between apprentice and maestro, Ayala having won the league as a player in 1993 under Almeida’s tutelage.

David Pereira put the hosts in front with a fabulous diving header to connect with Diego Godoy’s pinpoint cross from the left-hand side. The breakaway had begun on the edge of Carapeguá’s penalty area when Ruben Maldonado carried the ball 50 yards following the breakdown of an Olimpia attacking move. Counter attacking and direct passing had been a feature of El Potro’s play and it reaped rewards.

Olimpia have a great record of scoring just after the break and that continued when Enzo Prono (one of three halftime substitutes) scored his first ever goal for the club with a goal straight out of the top drawer, his volley from 35 yards out was unstoppable. While everybody tried to settle down and recover from Prono’s breathtaking strike there were cries of goal at the other end, a corner kick was headed in emphatically by Celso Gonzalez Ferreira to restore the home side’s lead. The equaliser would also arrive from a set piece, a Tomas Guzman freekick was floated to the far post and somehow Fredy Bareiro managed to head home despite seemingly facing away from goal, it was unbelievable neck-work from the striker who now has 71 goals in domestic football.

Eduardo Aranda was sent off, a second yellow card, and will miss the clásico next weekend against Cerro Porteño.

Other games

Rubio Ñu earned a valuable home point thanks to Bryan Montenegro’s equaliser after Guaraní had taken the lead through substitute Rodrigo Teixeira. Cerro de Franco won 1-0 with a Sergio Samudio strike in Nelson Zelaya’s final game as coach. He has resigned for personal reasons and is currently undergoing psychological treatment following his involvement in a traffic accidente that killed three people last week.

By Ralph Hannah

Apertura 2013 Week 5 Wrap: Late winners for the new boys as big guns fail

A funny week in which the major clubs didn’t manage a goal between them, in fact Cerro, Olimpia and Guaraní all lost while Libertad managed a goalless draw. The headlines are for the smaller teams, General Díaz continue this incredible winning run and become the first newly-promoted side since Atletico Tembetary in 1996 to win five games in a row. Deportivo Capiatá also recorded a famous win with a stoppage time freekick against Cerro Porteño to lift themselves off the bottom and temporarily out of the relegation zone.

We start with Fidel Miño’s wonderful freekick on Sunday evening, watch the video until the end to see the angle behind the goal. Cerro Porteño had looked the most likely to break the deadlock in a team packed with young stars with Junior Alonso and Miguel Almirón both making their senior debuts, but they were denied by Tobias Vargas and their own wasteful finishing.

Going back chronologically and on Saturday night Olimpia were blown away in the first 20-odd minutes by a Nacional side who look like they will be title challengers once again. A super-strike from Silvio Torales opened the scoring but was he given too much space by Jorge Baez, who was again unable to defend a cross at the back post which allowed Gustavo Cristaldo to head in after 15 minutes. Baez isn’t a bad player but he isn’t suited to the kind of defensive work Ever Almeida is trying to get him to do and it showed. Julian Benítez made it three after 23 minutes and that was game over with Olimpia not capable of pulling back that many goals even in an improved second half display.

On Friday night, General Díaz continue to surprise and make me look silly – although it is impossible to begrudge them another victory built on a fine defensive display, excellent team spirit and a few mindblowing saves. Jorge Cáceres got the winner in the dying stages, a header from a corner that keeps them top of the league.

In other news, Libertad rested players and drew nil-nil in Carapeguá while there was also a draw for Sol de América who finally scored again through Sergio Escalante, a late equaliser after Cerro de Franco had gone ahead. Another team that ended their four-game goal drought was Sportivo Luqueño, it took Claudio Correa just five minutes to head in and that proved to be the winner against his former club Rubio Ñu who are now in the relegation zone.

ALL THE GOALS FROM WEEK 5 HERE

By Ralph Hannah

Apertura 2013 Week 3 Wrap: Olimpia win clásico añejo and Nacional end Libertad’s unbeaten run

Olimpia proved their squad has strength and depth with a hard fought win over Guaraní despite making some changes from the Copa Libertadores side that beat Universidad de Chile. It was a pulsating game that began with a bang and could have finished with a win for either team, especially during an end-to-end second half with both teams creating so many chances.

The first goal came after just two minutes, a sumptious strike from Fredy Bareiro, he picked the ball up over on the left and cut inside before curling the ball into the far corner, totally surprising Pablo Auerrecochea. Guaraní were rattled but slowly came back into the game only to find a resistant Olimpia defence with Martin Silva behind that. The equaliser did come though, in the final moments of the first half, via a dead ball situation as birthday boy Luis de la Cruz floated over a free kick that was met by Rodrigo Teixeira who had outjumped his marker and thundered his header in.

The second half was a great battle between two sides who will surely be contesting the title race come June, the game swung back and forth but in the end it was Olimpia who took the points. Ex-Guaraní defender Julio Manzur headed in the winner from a corner even though he was being pushed off balance by Sergio Orteman. A good win for the franjeado who play their Week 2 league match on Wednesday, rearranged due to Copa Libertadores commitments.

Nacional threw up a surprise by beating Libertad after a rare defensive error from Ruben Israel’s team, the ball given away in their own half and Marco Melgarejo was on hand to finish off a move with his weaker right foot. The midfielder will have enjoyed scoring the winner against his old club that ended a run of 19 matches without defeat for the Gumarelo. They are in action again this week taking on Brazilian side Palmeiras in the Copa.

Melagerjo (r) celebrates his winner with Caceres Cañete – Photo: Club Nacional

Cerro Porteño fans finally had something to cheer about, although they continue to concede goals at an average of two per game, they managed to score four last night to see off their namesakes Cerro de Franco 4-2.

Jonathan Fabbro was in the mood, opening the scoring with a half volley after a training-ground freekick that was cut back in his direction. His second was superb, a direct freekick over the wall that left the goalkeeper floundered and kissed the post on its way in. That came just moments after the visiting side had been gifted an equaliser from the local left back Sergio Vergara who headed the ball over Diego Barreto and into his own net, serious miscommunication issues between the new teammates. In the second half the azulgrana were the best they’ve been this year – Angel Romero looks a very exciting prospect and set up Santiago Salcedo for a simple tap-in thanks to the 20-year-old’s well timed run and clever cut back. Julio Dos Santos sealed victory with a well hit half volley meaning there were no nerves when Cristian Andersen got a second for the team from Presidente Franco.

ALL THE GOALS

RESULTS

General Díaz 1-0 Sportivo Luqueño
Guaraní 1-2 Olimpia
Sol de América 0-0 Carapeguá
Nacional 1-0 Libertad
Rubio Ñu 1-2 Capiatá
Cerro Porteño 4-2 Cerro de Franco

By Ralph Hannah

Apertura 2013 Week 2 Wrap: Cerro Porteño without a win and Guaraní and Cerro de Franco score five

Guaraní and Cerro de Franco were the big winners this weekend, recording 5-0 and 5-2 victories respecitvely, the former are now top of the league on goal difference following that display in Capiatá.

It was the first ever Primera game to be hosted at Deportivo Capiatá’s stadium, aptly named ‘Estadio Deportivo Capiatá’, and on a typically hot afternoon the ground was packed to the rafters. In fact, kick off was almost delayed by Guaraní’s president who complained that hundreds of away supporters were outside the ground with tickets unable to get in, it seems the newly-promoted side were over-zealous in their ticket sales which had exceeded capacity.

Orteman celebrates his goal as Guaraní start well in their new away kit! – Photo: Club Guarani

The match was a fairly even contest until the 35th minute when Dante López danced round Tobias Vargas only to be felled by the Capiatá goalkeeper, a penalty and red card ensued. Sergio Orteman put the penalty away and the proverbial floodgates opened. The capiateño’s gameplan was out of the window and the aurinegro were very impressive in picking them apart, it is worth highlighting the performance of Luis de la Cruz, the 21-year-old midfielder was excellent, scoring one just before half time and being involved in three other goals.

The previous day, Cerro de Franco also managed five goals against a woeful Nacional side who seem to freeze everytime they travel east to Ciudad del Este. A Lorenzo Delvalle penalty after three minutes set the azulgrana on their way and by halftime it was game over, the home side 3-0 up. Sergio Samudio’s goal just after the break was probably the pick of the bunch as he turned his man with a clever touch and opened his body to curl the ball past Ignacio Don, that made it 4-0. The two goals from the Academia were sandwiched by a fifth for Cerro de Franco, who had won this same fixtures 5-0 in the 2012 Apertura.

There were two draws over the weekend, Luqueño playing out their second consecutive goalless draw against a Sol de América side who couldn’t repeat last week’s heroics against Cerro Porteño. Speaking of Cerro, they still can’t win – an alternative side were held by Carapeguá in a 1-1 draw with both goals coming in the opening 15 minutes.

On Friday night, Libertad overcame Rubio Ñu at home, Pablo Velázquez and William Mendieta put the home side 2-0 before the half hour mark. Brian Montenegro scored a consolation towards the end of the first forty-five in a goal-filled opening half.

All the goals here:

RESULTS

Libertad 2-1 Rubio Ñu
Cerro de Franco 5-2 Nacional
Luque 0-0 Sol de América
Capiatá 0-5 Guaraní
Carapeguá 1-1 Cerro Porteño
Gral. Díaz P-P Olimpia (to be played 27th Feb due to Olimpia’s Copa Libertadores commitments)

By Ralph Hannah

Apertura 2013 Week 1 Wrap: No wins for Cerro, Olimpia or Libertad as Sol shine

The headline from this weekend is of course Sol de América’s fantastic 4-1 win over Cerro Porteño, something of a shock considering the strong line up put out by Jorge Fossati but it proves yet again the ability Ricardo Dabrowski has as a coach, he has outwitted his more illustrious opponent in their previous three matches.

The first three goals all came down the Cerro right-hand-side with Alfredo Mazacotte profiting from a good move for his first goal and a defensive error for his second. Victor Hugo Mareco’s own goal was turned in after another cross from the Sol de América left, not a great day for Carlos Bonet. By the time Diego Vázquez turned in his now customary goal against Cerro (he now has 4 in the previous 3) the game was well beyond doubt and for the third match running it was Sol who would be celebrating.

The highlight for El Ciclón was their consolation goal from young Angel Romero, the striker who joined his twin brother on the field of play for the second half scored a cracking volley to round off 11 minutes of madness when four of the game’s five goals were recorded.

Later on Saturday evening I was at Dos Bocas for Guaraní’s match against the reigning champions Libertad, the home side got off to a lighting quick start – so fast was Luis De La Cruz’s goal that I must admit I was still walking up the road to the stadium as I heard the cheer! The midfielder slapped home the rebound after Palau’s shot had been well saved.

Despite the early lead the aurinegro offered very little for the rest of the half, Libertad looked extremely comfortable in possession and Pablo Guiñazú proved he hasn’t lost an ounce of skill, the midfielder sat deep received passes with a perfect first touch and always got Libertad going forward. At one point I caught him rollicking striker Pablo Velazquez, he wanted the striker to come deep to receive the ball and bring in the wide players – that kind of move would lead to the equaliser. A ball was received from Guiñazú, played out wide to Jorge Moreira and the full back stood up a cross to the back post where Velázqez met it with a guided downward header.

Orteman was unable to be the match winner for Guarani – Photo: D10.com.py

The second half saw Guaraní improve, especially when Diego Alonso brought on Dario Ocampo who had the ability of unsettling the Guma backline and ensuring Moreira couldn’t charge forward too often. Any chances of a winner for the home side was dispelled after 75 minutes however with the second yellow for Edgar Aranda meaning it was a case of clinging on in the final quarter of an hour. In fact the best chance of the second half went to José Ariel Nuñez who beat the keeper but was denied by the post.

Sunday’s game was a goalless draw full of action between Sportivo Luqueño and Olimpia, in the endgoalkeeper Martin Silva was given man of the match which was a fair reflection of the chances Luque created. The Uruguayan made at least three stunning saves to deny the auriazul with Francisco Garcia having a top game, he is a promising player for the future.

RESULTS: Sol 4-1 Cerro; Nacional 4-3 Carapeguá; Guaraní 1-1 Libertad; Rubio Ñu 1-0 Cerro de Franco; Gral. Díaz 2-1 Capiatá; Luque 0-0 Olimpia

ALL THE GOALS

Player of the week: Alfredo Mazacotte’s two goals against Cerro Porteño earns him the award – must say I was very impressed with Pablo Guiñazú, he lives up to the old adage ‘class is permanent etc.’

Incidents -

Week 21 Wrap: Libertad close in on title as Nacional stumble in home straight

There is just one round of games remaining and three teams are still in contention for the championship while another three are fighting to avoid the drop. If that wasn’t enough excitement, Olimpia’s goalkeeper popped up with the winner against Sol de América as he decided to take the penalty!

Libertad took a huge stride towards the finish line winning away to Cerro de Franco on Friday night with a solitary goal from Pablo Velázquez. The cleansheet was their third in a row and 11th of the season as once again Ruben Israel’s side looked in control. A win at home against Luque will seal the title, it would be the club’s sixth since 2006, as they continue to be the most successful side in recent times in Paraguay.

Guaraní are closest to the Gumarelo following a 2-1 win against Carapeguá in Dos Bocas, once again Diego Centurión providing a crucial goal with Dante López involved in the build up to both goals. López won the penalty after 30 minutes which was converted by Sergio Orteman, then in the second half he showed great awareness to find Centurión in the area with a pass giving his strike partner the simplest of finishes. Either side of the Aborigen’s double was a goal from Arnulfo Colmán that briefly gave the Carapegueños hope, all is not lost for the promoted side, if they can win their final game of the season they will survive.

Guarani’s goalscorers – Photo: D10.com.py

Nacional were the big losers this weekend, a home game against a weakened Cerro Porteño side was a great opportunity to stay joint top. The locals were out of the blocks quickly and for 20 minutes bombarded the azulgrana goal with crosses aimed at Rodirgo Teixeira and Cesar Cáceres Cañete hoping to thread balls into the box. However it was Cerro who opened the scoring after 31 minutes a move that saw Carlos Bonet get forward down the right and send in a low cross to Iván Torres who let the ball run through his legs to Santiago Salcedo for his first goal in five matches.

In other results, Olimpia beat Sol de América by one goal to nil as is customary – it was the 4th 1-0 victory for El Decano in the previous five games. The difference this time was the goalscorer, Uruguayan goalkeeper Martin Silva decided to take the penalty after 53 minutes to secure the win. Rubio Ñu won for the first time in 11 games by beating Tacuary 2-1, incidentally three of Rubio Ñu’s last four wins have come against Tacua. And finally, Luque secured their place in the top division for another season with a nervy 1-0 win over Independiente, as ever their hero was captain Claudio David Vargas who scored the only goal.

ALL THE GOALS HERE

By Ralph Hannah