by Rod Hughes

Cartago, fighting off demotion into the Second Division, surprised Perez-Zeledon 2-0 on its home pitch Sunday in the weekend’s only match in First Division soccer. P-Z was riding high and confident after its last match in which the southern warriors tromped leader Saprissa.

Everything was going right for Cartago, including the “foggy city’s” usual climatic antics–sporadic rain, chilly wind, broken by a timid sun. The old capital’s stadium is the only one in the country equipped with fog lights. (Well, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the idea.) Anyhoo, Cartago did not catch fire until Jose Francisco “Cocha” Alfaro blasted one in.

P-Z threatened, including hitting the upright, but could not manage to hit the net. Then, Cartago’s Leonardo Madrigal added the insurance. Madrigal, who lost his mother to melanoma last Dec. 2, dedicated his goal to his mother.