PAITA, Peru (Interstat) — Erinson Ramirez scored in first-half stoppage time and A. Rojas added a goal in the 90th minute as Juan Pablo II beat Sport Boys 2-0 on Saturday in a match that remained competitive until the home side’s late finish. Juan Pablo II led at halftime and protected the advantage after a busy second half of substitutions and yellow cards. The victory gave the home side the full result after a tight opening period.

The breakthrough came just before the interval. In the 45th minute plus two, Ramirez found the net to give Juan Pablo II a 1-0 lead at halftime. The goal followed a physical opening half that produced four yellow cards around the break. Juan Pablo II’s N. Ramirez was booked in the 27th minute, and Sport Boys’ P. Liza was cautioned one minute later. Sport Boys’ G. Dulanto received a yellow card in the 45th minute, and M. Llontop and J. Alarcon were both booked in the 45th minute plus three. Sport Boys could not answer before the halftime whistle, and Juan Pablo II took its narrow lead into the second half.

Sport Boys made the first substitution of the second half when P. Liza came off in the 53rd minute. Juan Pablo II made a change in the 61st minute when N. Ramirez departed. Sport Boys’ L. Urruti was substituted in the 65th minute, and Juan Pablo II’s J. Posito, who had been shown a yellow card in the 66th minute, came off in the 71st. Juan Pablo II then replaced Erinson Ramirez in the 72nd minute after his first-half goal. The substitutions continued as Juan Pablo II brought on J. P. Goicochea Del Carpio in the 82nd minute, and Sport Boys replaced J. Alarcon in the 83rd minute.

Rojas finished as the game’s leading statline performer with one goal in 90 minutes, scoring in the 90th minute to make it 2-0. Erinson Ramirez also finished with one goal, doing so in 72 minutes before his substitution. The home side’s two goals came from those efforts, while Sport Boys finished with no goals and could not erase the first-half deficit. Juan Pablo II’s defense held after the second goal as the match moved into its final moments.

The result left Sport Boys with an 0-2-0 record in the competition and an 0-3-0 mark across all competitions. Juan Pablo II moved to 1-0-1 in the competition and 1-0-1 across all competitions. Sport Boys had entered after previous losses to Club Alianza Atletico, including a 3-1 home defeat and a 3-0 road loss. Juan Pablo II had entered after a 1-1 draw at CD Comerciantes Unidos. The home win gave Juan Pablo II its first victory in the competition this season, while Sport Boys remained without a win in the competition and across all competitions.

The match’s disciplinary record was heavily tilted toward Sport Boys after the first half. Juan Pablo II received yellow cards to N. Ramirez in the 27th minute and J. Posito in the 66th minute. Sport Boys received cautions to P. Liza in the 28th, G. Dulanto in the 45th, M. Llontop in the 45th minute plus three and J. Alarcon in the 45th minute plus three. Both teams made changes as the second half progressed, with Sport Boys using substitutions in the 53rd, 65th and 83rd minutes and Juan Pablo II making changes in the 61st, 71st, 72nd and 82nd minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 1-1 final. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Juan Pablo II with a 66.6 percent probability to win, and Juan Pablo II was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.25. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 2.5.