SAN ISIDRO DE EL GENERAL, Costa Rica (Interstat) — Herediano scored three goals in a seven-minute second-half stretch and defeated AD Municipal Perez Zeledon 3-0 at Estadio Municipal Pérez Zeledón on Sunday. The visitors broke a scoreless match in the 69th minute and added goals in the 72nd and 75th, turning a tight contest into a clear road win. Herediano improved its record in the competition to one win, one loss and one draw, the same mark it holds across all competitions. AD Municipal Perez Zeledon remained without a win in the competition and overall, with two losses in as many matches.

Daniel Gonzalez started the burst with a goal in the 69th minute. Allan Cruz doubled the lead in the 72nd minute, and Elias Aguilar made it 3-0 in the 75th minute. The three scorers were Herediano’s key attacking contributors, with Gonzalez, Cruz and Aguilar each finding the net once. Gonzalez played 39 minutes and scored once, Cruz played 85 minutes and scored once, and Aguilar scored once. The goals came after a first half and early second half in which the match remained scoreless, and Herediano did not need a fourth goal to secure the result.

Discipline shaped parts of the match before the goals arrived. Herediano received a yellow card in the 15th minute, and AD Municipal Perez Zeledon’s Carvajal K. was booked in the 16th. Munoz D. followed with a yellow card for the hosts in the 18th, and AD Municipal Perez Zeledon received another yellow card in the 89th minute. The hosts made a substitution at halftime involving K. Gonzalez. Herediano made two changes in the 51st minute involving N. Bennette and E. Bravo. AD Municipal Perez Zeledon then made substitutions in the 65th minute involving Carvajal, the 73rd involving W. Renteria and the 77th involving A. Amador and J. Aguirre. Herediano made late changes in the 85th minute involving H. Quiros and Cruz.

Herediano entered the match after a 1-1 draw at Alajuelense and a 1-0 home loss to San Carlos. AD Municipal Perez Zeledon had lost 4-1 to Escorpiones in its previous competition match. Those results left Herediano seeking a response and Perez Zeledon searching for its first positive result of the season. Herediano found that response after the break, controlling the decisive stretch and scoring three times between the 69th and 75th minutes. AD Municipal Perez Zeledon could not answer after falling behind and finished the match without a goal. The hosts had no response in the final 20 minutes as Herediano closed out the shutout.

The win moved Herediano to one win, one loss and one draw in the competition and the same record across all competitions. AD Municipal Perez Zeledon fell to no wins and two losses in the competition, matching its all-competitions record. The match was played at Estadio Municipal Pérez Zeledón.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Herediano 2, AD Municipal Perez Zeledon 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Herediano with a 68.3 percent probability to win. Herediano had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 2.5.