JULIACA, Peru (Interstat) — Santos defeated Binacional 2-1 Friday at Estadio Guillermo Briceño Rosamedina, using first-half goals from Gabriel Morales and Miguel Curiel to secure the win after Binacional answered once before the break. Santos improved to 2-0-1 in the competition and 2-0-1 across all competitions. Binacional fell to 0-2-0 in the competition and 0-2-0 across all competitions. The visitors took the lead early and held it through a second half that included a red card, two yellow cards and a series of substitutions. The match produced all three goals before halftime, and Santos protected its narrow advantage after the interval.

Morales scored in the 9th minute to put Santos ahead. Binacional leveled in the 19th minute when G. Marcelin Perez J. scored. Curiel restored Santos’s advantage in the 42nd minute, and that goal proved decisive. Marcelin Perez J. played the full match and scored Binacional’s only goal. Morales and Curiel each played 60 minutes and scored once for Santos. Morales and Curiel were both substituted in the 60th minute after their first-half contributions. There were no further goals after Curiel’s strike, leaving Santos with a one-goal lead for the remainder of the match.

Santos played the closing stretch with 10 men after K. Guerra was sent off in the 55th minute. Binacional’s C.A. Perez Ochoa received a yellow card in the 56th minute. Santos’s S. Torres was cautioned in the 83rd minute. The red card left Santos with 10 men, and Santos kept its one-goal lead through the final whistle. Binacional did not score again after the 19th minute. The caution for Perez Ochoa came one minute after Guerra’s dismissal, and Torres’s booking came late in the second half.

Binacional made a substitution involving A. Gastulo in the 60th minute. Santos substituted Morales and Curiel in the 60th. Binacional used O. Vasquez as a substitution in the 63rd minute. In the 80th minute, Binacional made substitutions involving C. Farfan and A. Huaraccallo, while Santos introduced D. Taco. Santos substituted S. Torres in the 89th minute. The late changes did not produce an equalizer for Binacional. Both teams used their benches as the second half moved toward its final stages. The substitutions were made at 60, 63, 80 and 89 minutes as both sides rotated personnel.

The result continued Santos’s unbeaten start in the competition. Santos had drawn 1-1 with AD Cantolao earlier in the season and had beaten Binacional 4-0 in their most recent head-to-head meeting. Binacional had lost that previous meeting 4-0 at Santos. Santos’s competition record and all-competitions record both stood at 2-0-1 after the match, while Binacional’s competition and all-competitions records both stood at 0-2-0. Santos remained unbeaten in the competition and across all competitions, while Binacional remained without a win.

Binacional did not score again after the 19th minute, and Santos protected the lead. Marcelin Perez J.’s first-half finish briefly pulled Binacional level. Santos’s first-half scoring burst provided the difference. The match featured two yellow cards and one red card, with both teams using substitutions in the second half. The game had three total goals, all in the first half, and Santos held on for the road result. The first half ended with Santos ahead 2-1, and the score remained unchanged after the break. No goals were scored in the second half. Santos took the 2-1 lead into halftime and kept it until the final whistle.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Binacional 1, Santos 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Binacional with a 64 percent probability to win. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 2.5.