SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (Interstat) — Inter Santa Tecla earned a 2-0 road victory over Inca Aruba on Friday, scoring once in the second half and adding another goal in stoppage time to close out the competition match. Inter Santa Tecla held its shape after a tight opening period and made its chances count while Inca Aruba could not find a response. The visitors finished the match with two unanswered goals and left with the win, their first in the competition this season.

The match remained scoreless through the first half and into the second before Emerson Mauricio broke through in the 68th minute for Inter Santa Tecla. Mauricio played the full match and finished with one goal. The goal gave the visitors the lead and forced Inca Aruba to push forward in search of an equalizer. Inca Aruba tried to answer after conceding, but Inter Santa Tecla kept the home side away from a breakthrough and protected the advantage into the closing stages. The opening goal left Inca Aruba with more than 20 minutes plus stoppage time to respond, but the home side could not find a finish.

Inter Santa Tecla added a second goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time when E. Vasquez Guillen L. scored. Vasquez Guillen L. also played all 90 minutes and had one goal. The late strike ended any remaining uncertainty and completed the scoring. Mauricio’s opener and Vasquez Guillen L.’s stoppage-time finish accounted for the visitors’ two goals. The second goal came after Inca Aruba had pushed forward in an attempt to level the match.

The result moved Inter Santa Tecla to 1 win, 2 losses and 3 draws in the competition. Across all competitions, Inter Santa Tecla is now 1 win, 2 losses and 5 draws. Inca Aruba remained without a competition win and sits at 0 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw. Inca Aruba’s all-competitions record is also 0 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw. The victory was Inter Santa Tecla’s first in the competition this season, while Inca Aruba remained in search of its first.

Inter Santa Tecla entered the match after a 2-1 home loss to Municipal Limeno, a 0-0 draw at Cacahuatique, a 2-2 draw at Alianza FC, another 0-0 draw at Cacahuatique, a 1-1 home draw with Fuerte San Francisco, a 2-1 loss at Aguila and a 1-1 home draw with Atletico Balboa. Those results left the club with a run of draws and defeats before the win on Friday. The previous competition slate included two scoreless draws and three drawn matches in which both teams scored, giving Inter Santa Tecla a tight set of results before it broke through against Inca Aruba.

Inca Aruba had lost 2-0 at Luis Angel Firpo, fallen 4-1 at home to Platense Municipal and drawn 1-1 at FAS in its previous competition matches. The home side entered the match looking for its first competition win and remained in search of that breakthrough after Inter Santa Tecla’s second-half goals. Inca Aruba had conceded multiple goals in two of its previous three competition matches and could not keep Inter Santa Tecla off the scoreboard in the second half. Inca Aruba’s previous results left it with one draw and two losses in the competition this season. The home side had not won in the competition before Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Inter Santa Tecla 2, Inca Aruba 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Inca Aruba with a 77.7 percent probability to win. Inter Santa Tecla had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 2.5.