Sixteen times the ball came in, and sixteen times José Cuenú headed, hooked or hacked it clear. That was the story at the back for Operário-PR on a night they left Criciúma with all three points, winning 2-0.
The scoreline tells one part of it. Cuenú's numbers tell the rest: 16 clearances, seven duels won, a tackle won and an interception added on top. It was the kind of shift that does not always make the highlight reel but decides matches all the same, especially away from home against a Criciúma side pushing for an equaliser they never found.
Volume over flash
There was nothing spectacular in the individual actions themselves, just relentless repetition. Ball after ball into the box, and Cuenú there to deal with it. Seven duels won out of whatever he contested suggests he was rarely beaten in the physical battles either, and the single tackle and interception point to a defender reading the game rather than chasing it.
That workload earned him a match rating of 7.9, the kind of figure that reflects a performance built almost entirely out of defensive actions rather than any moment in the opposition box.
For Operário-PR, a clean sheet away from home in the Brasileirão Serie B is worth banking regardless of how it looks on the stat sheet. On this occasion it looked like one man refusing to let Criciúma find a way through.