QF 2nd Leg: Toluca 1 - 1 Pumas (agg. 1 - 3)

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Brief highlights with music here.
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Pumas battled their way to a draw in the Bombonera in a game dominated by Toluca to set up a semi-final against Santos. The player of the game was undoubtedly Uruguayan Vicente Sánchez (see picture), in possibly his last game for Toluca, who set up the Toluca goal and created problems all afternoon. But in the end Pumas had enough spirit and luck on their side to see them through.

"El Tuca" Ferretti found no place in the starting line-up for the now available Verón, keeping faith in González after some fine performances. And more surprisingly he chose to start with Iñiguez ahead of Barrera. Toluca started with Sánchez and Da Silva (back from duty with Paraguay) with Esquivel on the bench.

Toluca began the game strongly, seeking an early goal to put pressure on the university side, with Vicente Sánchez especially lively. Their over eagerness was reflected by two early bookings for Da Silva and Rosada but Pumas were unable to find any sort of rhythm and were giving the ball away in midfield far too often. In the first fifteen minutes the reds created a couple of half-chances, while on a rare sally into opposition territory Iñiguez surged into the box and hit a left foot shot straight at Cristante.

Despite a great deal of movement, possession and pressure the Toluca attack was unable to create too many clear opportunities although Giménez stabbed one good opportunity straight at Bernal after 20 minutes. Nevertheless there was a deal of menace in their play and they were pressuring high up the field making it hard for Pumas to play a possession game. The frustration in the midfield led to Leandro receiving a caution for pulling back Carlos Morales.

Just as Pumas were starting to get a foothold in the game after a nice move between Espinoza and "El Cachas" Iñiguez, Toluca scored. From a long clearance by Cristante in the 33rd minute González was caught out of position on the header. Giménez headed on to Sánchez who held off three defenders before slipping the return to the advancing Giménez. Bursting through he slipped the ball between Bernal's legs from the edge of the area. Toluca were galvanised and Pumas, looking nervous, really struggled to hold on until half time. Sánchez put in a number of dangerous crosses as well as swivelling from a corner to put a left foot shot just wide. Meanwhile at the other end Scocco nearly managed to score on the break after he volleyed wide from a Solari knock-down.

It was a good half from Toluca, and with the goal Tuca clearly had some work to do at half time. In the end he brought off Iñiguez and Sambueza to bring on the pace of Barrera and reinforce the defence with Verón. Barrera made a lively start but so did Toluca with Moreno having to be alert to nudge away another dangerous Sánchez cross. Solari meanwhile was booked for a lunging tackle on Da Silva, and Barrera (harshly) for a push on the same player.

Pumas were having a lot of trouble in their own area: Sánchez hit a chilena (overhead kick) straight at Bernal while the ever-improving Rosada had a half chance after a scramble in the box. Toluca looked to push home their pressure bringing on Diego de la Torre for Cruzalta and continued to dominate.

But by pushing forward space was left for Barrera to attack, and after a quick break-out from Castro, Barrera took the ball on and squeezed a left foot shot against Cristante from a tight angle. This was to foreshadow the killer blow three minutes later: on 63 minutes Pumas were level. Barrera yet again ran at the stretched Toluca defence but this time up the middle. After beating two players his right foot shot could only be parried by the goalkeeper and Solari pushed in the rebound. It was hardly deserved, but Barrera's pace and skill had brought a different aspect to playing on the break.

The game became a little messy as Toluca tried to rebuild. Castro was booked for pulling back Rosada and Morales went off after clashing heads with Solari, while González his replacement also went into the book for a studs up challenge on Leandro.

With about twenty minutes to go the "pingos" (imps - maybe because Toluca are "little devils"?) stepped up the pace and created their best chances of the game. Diego de la Torre missed the best of them as Rosada found him with a lovely cross alone about ten yards out, but he fluffed the chance wide. Then on 79 minutes Giménez got clear after confusion on the edge of the box but scuffed his chance over. And Bernal had to cling on to a fierce Da Silva shot from the edge of the area. The veteran Pumas goalkeeper also had a lot of work to do fielding crosses which were now raining in on the Pumas area. With 6 minutes to go Esquivel climbed above Velarde onto the end of one of those crosses and rattled the crossbar, while a shot on 85 minutes hit Verón's elbow as he turned away and a penalty was rightly not given.

Credit to Toluca, even though the tie was all but over they kept pushing to the end, Edgar González heading straight at Bernal from another Sánchez cross. But Pumas held on and move on to the semi-finals while Toluca plan for next season.

Goals
Giménez (33 minutes) 1-0
Solari (63) 1-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Leandro (pulling back), Solari (poor tackle), Barrera (push), Castro (pulling back)
Toluca: yellow: Da Silva (climbing), Rosada (non existent foul), Ponce (studs up tackle), González (late tackle)

Player Ratings
Bernal 7 - did what he was asked
Velarde 7 - had problems with Sánchez but worked hard
Espinoza 7 - got forward when he could
González 7 - good except for error on the goal
Moreno 6 - occasionally panicky
Castro 6 - didn't really get into the game
Leandro 6 - always under pressure
Iñiguez 7 - created some danger going forwards
Sambueza 7 - looked lively but was closed down well
Scocco 6 - quiet apart from his first half shot
Solari 7 - worked hard in attack and defence and took goal well
Barrera 8 - changed the game with his pace and skill
Verón 7 - brought much needed manpower and calm to the defence
Palencia - not on long

Tuca 8 - good substitutions when things were getting tough. Kept his cool.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Chivas advanced to the semi finals with a regulation 1-0 over San Luis in the Estadio Jalisco, the goal once again by Sergio Santana.

Meanwhile Atlante beat Cruz Azul 2-1 in Cancún, the star "el chícharo" González. Maldonado scored in the first half, while González netted a long-range effort in the second. Borgetti got a close-range consolation for the "cementeros".

Santos, the top team from the regular season, confirmed their semi-final place with a 3-2 win in the Estadio Corona. Goalscorers were Ludueña, again from a free kick, Johnny García and Vicente Vuoso, while Morelia replied through Ever Guzmán and a stunning free kick from Fernando Arce.

Next Up
Pumas take on superlíderes Santos - first leg in CU on Thursday.

Full draw
Santos v Pumas (Thursday and Sunday)
Atlante v Chivas (Wednesday and Saturday)