Sportivo Ameliano Earn a Point—and Respect—as Down-to-Ten Stand Firm Against Club Guarani’s Title Push

At the Estadio José Tomás Silva, where tension and expectation hung heavy in the spring air, Sportivo Ameliano delivered a performance that belied their position near the foot of the table, holding high-flying Club Guarani to a 1-1 draw on Sunday evening. For a side mired in 11th place and coming off a bruising run of defeats, it was a night to remind Paraguay’s Division Profesional that grit can sometimes trump class—and that even a title challenger like Guarani can be made to look ordinary.

The match’s opening act unfolded with plenty of incident but little in the way of final product. Guarani, whose 10 wins this Clausura have looked, at times, effortless, found themselves stymied by a compact, organized Ameliano intent on denying space between the lines. The home side’s attacking intentions were limited, but with each Guarani misstep, hope flickered briefly through the terraces.

Then, in the 29th minute, came the moment that threatened to unravel the home effort. Matías Martinich, anchoring Ameliano’s back line, slid in rashly near midfield and caught Guarani’s winger late. Referee Luis Cáceres had little hesitation flashing red, and the hosts were left a man light for more than an hour. With Guarani already crowding possession, the numerical advantage seemed likely to tip the scales irreversibly.

Yet football’s script has its twists. Ameliano’s resolve hardened, defenders throwing themselves into clearances, and goalkeeper Víctor Ayala growing in stature with every save. The first half ended without a goal, but Guarani’s frustration was palpable, their rhythm continually disrupted by Ameliano’s dogged discipline.

It took just two minutes after the restart, however, for Guarani to finally break through. A sharp move down the right, patient build-up, and an incisive cut-back—it ended with an emphatic finish from inside the penalty area. The identity of the scorer, lost in the official record for now, will matter little to Guarani’s faithful, but the sense was clear: at last, the breakthrough.

For many teams, this would have been the curtain call. Yet Ameliano, bruised by a season that’s often seen them wilt at the first sign of adversity, responded with something approaching defiance. They pushed bodies forward in sporadic forays, forcing Guarani’s defense into awkward clearances. The crowd sensed a shift, urging their side forward with a belief that belied recent results—just one win in their last five, and a heavy 1-4 defeat to these same opponents in July.

Then, as the match entered its decisive phase, it was Guarani who stumbled next. In the 73rd minute, a flashpoint near the halfway line saw a Guarani player dismissed for violent conduct. Suddenly, the numbers were even, and the momentum was blue and white.

Ameliano pounced. Within minutes, they carved open Guarani’s back line with perhaps their best move of the night—swarming into the box and forcing chaos that ended with the ball bundled home. The scorer’s name may remain unclaimed in the official ledger, but the moment was unmistakable: 1-1, and a thicket of hands raised to the night sky in celebration.

The final whistle was greeted with a swell of noise from the home stands—part relief, part jubilation. A draw, perhaps, on paper, but in context a result to rally around. Ameliano, still perched in 11th on just 11 points from 15 matches, showed the kind of spirit that could yet see them clear of trouble as the Clausura enters its run-in.

For Guarani, a point means they remain second, now on 32 points, and still firmly in the title hunt. But this was a night they will rue, a pair dropped rather than one gained, particularly against a side that had, just weeks prior, been put to the sword 4-1 in Asunción.

Recent weeks have seen Guarani wobble—the sparkling early-season form giving way to draws against Trinidense and Libertad Asuncion, and now a reminder that nothing comes easy on the road, even against a side struggling for form. November looms, and with it, the chase for silverware intensifies.

Ameliano, for their part, have little margin for error as the relegation fight bites deeper. Yet if Sunday’s display is any indication, hope lingers. They travel next with renewed confidence; the scars of September now tempered by the balm of defiance.

As they filed off the pitch, sweat-soaked and battered, the hosts left with a sense that, in holding Guarani, they had done more than just take a point—they had taken a stand. And in the shadow of one of their darkest seasons, that just might make all the difference.