SAN JUAN DE TIBAS, Costa Rica (Interstat) — Saprissa scored three goals in the first half and three more after the break to beat Sporting FC 6-0 on Thursday at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The home side controlled the Costa Rican Primera División match from early on and never allowed Sporting FC to find a response. Saprissa improved to 1-1 in the competition and 1-1 across all competitions. Sporting FC also moved to 1-1 in the competition and 1-1 across all competitions.

Sebastian Acuna opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Andrey Soto doubled the lead in the 26th. M. Azofeifa Rivas J. made it 3-0 in the 38th minute. Sporting FC’s J. Mendez received a yellow card in the 35th minute. Saprissa’s Acuna was booked in the 59th minute. The goals kept coming after halftime. Gerson Torres struck in the 55th minute, Kendall Waston scored in the 68th minute, and Orlando Sinclair completed the scoring in the 79th minute. Saprissa’s attack produced goals from six different players, and the defense kept a clean sheet.

Saprissa’s lead was never seriously threatened. The home side scored in three different phases of the match: early, midway through the first half, and late in the first half before adding three more in the second. Sporting FC’s only notable moment in the first half came when Mendez J. was booked in the 35th minute. After the break, Saprissa continued to dictate play. Acuna’s yellow card in the 59th minute was the only booking for the home side. The six goals came from Acuna, Soto, Azofeifa Rivas J., Torres, Waston and Sinclair. Each scorer found the net once, and Saprissa did not need a multi-goal individual performance to produce the rout.

In descending order of key performances, Sinclair recorded one goal while playing 15 minutes. Soto and Torres each scored in 70 minutes of action. Acuna scored in 90 minutes and received a yellow card. Azofeifa Rivas J. scored in 90 minutes, and Waston also scored in 90 minutes. Saprissa’s scoring balance was the defining feature of the match, with Acuna, Soto, Azofeifa Rivas J., Torres, Waston and Sinclair all finding the net.

Sporting FC made substitutions at halftime involving Mendez J. and Leiva G., and Pineda C. followed in the 60th minute. Saprissa’s substitutions in the 70th minute involved Torres G. and Soto A., and its 75th-minute changes involved Torres M., Williams N. and Paradela L. The visitors could not turn their changes into a goal, while Saprissa’s bench helped see out the result.

The substitutions changed the shape of both teams, but the scoreline did not change after Sinclair’s 79th-minute goal. Sporting FC finished without a goal, while Saprissa closed out the match with a clean sheet. The home crowd saw Saprissa score in the 10th, 26th, 38th, 55th, 68th and 79th minutes.

The result gave Saprissa a strong response after a previous loss at Escorpiones. Sporting FC entered the match after a win over Cartagines. Saprissa’s next match is at Cartagines in Primera División play. The home victory moved both sides to 1-1 in the competition and 1-1 across all competitions, leaving Saprissa with a split in its early-season results and Sporting FC with the same record. Sporting FC’s previous result was a 3-1 home win over Cartagines.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Saprissa 1, Sporting FC 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Saprissa with a 91.2 percent probability to win. Saprissa had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.75. The total score of 6 went under the over/under line of 2.5. The pregame projections had pointed to a closer contest. The simulator favored a 1-1 draw, while the ELO system gave Saprissa a large edge. The spread also placed Saprissa as the favorite. The final result was far different from those projections.