© Reuters 2002

By Brian Homewood

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 11 (Reuters) - Bolivian champions Oriente Petrolero hammered eight goals past hapless local rivals Guabira at the weekend, four of them coming from Paraguayan striker Alfredo Jara. Ecuador striker Ivan Kaviedes resumed his club career by scoring on his debut for Barcelona and Peruvian champions Alianza Lima ended a poor run of form when they beat Melgar 2-1.

BOLIVIA
Paraguayan striker Alfredo Jara hit four goals as titleholders Oriente Petrolero beat local rivals Guabira 8-0 in a Santa Cruz derby. Teenage striker Jose Alfredo Castillo, who scored 42 goals last season, added two more and Fabian Gimenez and Roger Suarez also got on the scoresheet. Guabira have made a disastrous start to the season, having been beaten 7-0 by Bolivar in their first game. "We need reinforcements for the rest of the season," said coach Emilio Ludena. Newly-promoted San Jose lead the first stage with seven points from three games after a controversial 2-1 win over Iberoamericana. Iberoamericana, who took the lead through Addy Riberio, claimed Miguel Angelo controlled the ball with his hand before equalising. The visitors, beaten by a Luis Orellano goal seven minutes from time, were also livid at having Daniel Heredia sent off for insulting the referee in the 75th minute.

ECUADOR
Striker Ivan Kaviedes, who is expected to lead Ecuador's attack at the World Cup, scored on his debut for Guayaquil-based club Barcelona as he finally resumed his club career. Kaviedes, who is owned by Spanish first division club Celta Vigo, had been on loan to Porto in Portugal where he had struggled to get into the first team. But his attempts to return to his homeland to play for Barcelona had been blocked because of a dispute between Emelec, the club where he began his career, and Celta Vigo over an outstanding transfer payment. Kaviedes helped Barcelona to a 2-2 draw against Liga de Quito which kept them third in the table. Champions Emelec stayed top despite having two men sent off in a stormy 2-1 defeat by Espoli, a club founded by the police force. Carlos Alberto Juarez gave Emelec a 68th minute lead but Espoli hit back with two goals in the last ten minutes from Fabian Cubero and Rafael Capurro.

PERU
Titleholders Alianza Lima ended a month of humiliations when they beat Melgar 2-1 to pick up their first points in this year's championship. A goal in each half by Jose Soto and Juan Carlos Baltazar gave Alianza a much-needed win. Alianza lost their first two games in the competition and also suffered two thumping defeats in the Libertadores Cup. Universitario, who won 1-0 at Sport Boys with a third-minute goal by Argentine Martin Vilallonga, are the only team with a 100 percent record after three games.

URUGUAY
Five games were washed out Sunday by torrential rain in the capital Montevideo. Defending champions Nacional won for the sixth time in seven games, beating Paysandu 2-0 away on Saturday night. A controversial penalty won and taken by international striker Richard Morales - who appeared to be fouled outside the penalty area - in the 55th minute gave Nacional the lead. Their second, in the last minute, was a brilliant individual goal by Horacio Peralta. Daniel Fonseca, returning to the club after a 12-year absence which included a spell in Italy's Serie A, was substituted in the 66th minute.

CHILE
Colo Colo, who are still fighting to survive after being declared bankrupt in January, won at Cobreloa for the first time in 23 years. Two goals by Ignacio Quinteros sank the team from the desert mining town of Calama to put Colo Colo top of group four in the new look championship. Defending champions Wanderers, who have made an indifferent start to the defence of their title, were beaten 1-0 at Palestino, who lead group A.