Final 1st Leg: Pumas 0 - 0 Atlante

A nil-all draw can often be a drab game lacking in quality, but that was not the case in CU for the first leg of the final as an intriguing encounter set up an interesting second leg in Cancún. Atlante must feel they have a slight advantage playing at home on Sunday, and they avoided conceding a goal despite being dominated by a Pumas team unable to provide the killer touch. Hero of the day was Federico Vilar (photo) Atlante's Argentinian goalkeeper who made three or four excellent saves to keep the scoresheet blank.

Ricardo Ferretti decided to start with the experience of Verón leaving out the unlucky Carlos Humerto González, while "El Profe" Cruz for Atlante slightly surprisingly started with Gabriel Pereyra on the bench. The game began with Atlante pushing forward, maybe hoping to catch Pumas cold as has happened more than once this season, and Maldonado almost got onto the end of something after 2 minutes, but very soon the rhythm had settled to what it would be for the rest of the game.

Atlante, clearly determined not to give too much away in CU and avoid what happened to Santos and Toluca, hung deep in a settled formation. They chose not to overly contest the midfield and Maldonado was often a lonely figure up front, but when Pumas had the ball there was always a cluster of red-and-blue shirts round the ball-carrier. Early on Barrera, Solari, Sambueza and Scocco all received possession but were immediately surrounded by Atlante players who crowded the zone in front of their penalty area.

Despite having most of the ball Pumas only really managed one half-chance in the first 20 minutes, a Castro strike ballooning over after a mini-scramble in the Atlante area. But then the university team were able to get forward more, their control of the midfield, with Castro prominent, allowing Sambueza and Barrera a little more space. Barrera created a chance for Sambueza whose delayed shot was blocked, and then a Sambueza through-ball worked an opening for Solari who fell over instead of shooting.

Pumas were continuing to have the better of play but chances were hard to come by. Ovalle was booked for a late tackle on Barrera, then Scocco had a nice run to the edge of the box but hit his shot straight at Vilar. Meanwhile at the other end Atlante occasionally looked lively when they moved forward and "El Hobbit" Bermúdez and "El Chícharo" González worked a couple of nice moves at the edge of the Pumas area without being able to create a goal-scoring opportunity.

Castro was having an increasing influence in the middle producing neat touches to nudge the team forward, but a couple of nice openings were spoilt by a poor final ball. Nevertheless Zamora was frustrated enough to lunge at Castro and earn a booking that puts him out of the second leg, while Castro fired a Vilar clearance just over after the Argentinian goalkeeper had got himself out of position.

In the last couple of minutes of the half Atlante once again showed well, with Solari having to clear a dangerous ball with a header near his own penalty spot, while Maldonado almost got through Verón on the stroke of half-time. The game had been played mostly in midfield but was of infinitely superior quality to the last time these two teams met back in August.

Neither team made changes for the second half and the pattern remained pretty much the same: Atlante sitting back in numbers and looking for chances on the break; Pumas pushing forward and holding the ball for longer but finding it hard to break down a solid defence. Scocco was coming deeper to shake off his markers and Solari began to look a little isolated, but Sambueza started to find a little space down the left. First he crossed into a dangerous area and Leandro hit the pressured clearance over. Then Solari couldn't quite get to another excellent cross. And finally Scocco headed on to Sambueza deep in the area but the Argentinian winger's diagonal shot went wide of the far post.

Atlante brought on Pereyra for ex-Puma David Toledo but the shape of the game changed little. If anything Atlante sat back more yet broke with more urgency. A nice Barrera run won a free kick which Vilar had to push round the post from Leandro, but there was very little else in the way of goalmouth action.

Then came a curious incident after 69 minutes. Pereyra was clearly edging his way into the game and becoming more influential for Atlante. But for some bizarre reason he decided to throw himself to the ground after lightly brushing Velarde's shoulder. Mauricio Morales rushed to make the booking (although why do referees book players without seeing the incident?) then had to book Leandro too for (as he often does) making his views of the decision known. Finally, either realising he had been duped, or because Pereyra said something too, Morales showed him the yellow card as well. The referee generally had a good game, but this moment was ludicrous.

The battle became tighter in midfield for a while and Atlante created their best chance of the game, Bernal making a save with his feet from Maldonado outside the area. The ball fell to Bermúdez but his shot was tame and easily cleared by Verón.

The last ten minutes were all Pumas, and Scocco finally got into the game. The team from the Pedregal should have had a lead but for the alertness of Vilar in the Atlante goal. A beautiful ball from Scocco to Solari escaped the forward slightly and Vilar was able to close the angle and force him to shoot into the side-netting. Then Nacho hit a drive from 30 yards which Vilar had to save full length and Solari was not far away again after Barrera shook off his marker to get in a shot from the edge of the area.Barrera too had a shot pushed away by Vilar after a Sambueza cross, and the keeper also made a fine save from Scocco when put through by Barrera.

Atlante made a couple of substitutions in the final minutes Guerrero making way for Alcántar, and Nkong coming on for Bermúdez. Mustafá picked up a booking for handball while Moreno was booked for elbowing Vilar (it was actually Solari but the referee got the wrong player). In the end the solid defensive shape of Atlante and some fine saves by Vilar kept the score nil-nil and there is still all to play for in the Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo on Sunday.

Goals
None

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Velarde (allowing Pereyra to lightly brush his shoulder), Leandro (for telling the referee he got that decision wrong), Moreno (for Solari barging Vilar)
Atlante: yellow: Ovalle (late tackle), Zamora (late tackle), Pereyra (either diving or saying something), Muñoz Mustafá (handball)

Player Ratings
Bernal 7 - did nothing much wrong but then did nothing much
Velarde 7 - fed Sambueza well
Verón 8 - gave Maldonado nothing
Moreno 7 - continues to look confident
Espinoza 7 - got forward well on occasions
Leandro 7 - excellent second half but slow to get going
Castro 8 - controlled the midfield
Sambueza 8 - again a danger and great crosses
Barrera 8 - dangerous running but crossing inconsistent
Scocco 8 - shackled for most of the game but showed how dangerous he is
Solari 6 - not able to create space for himself

Tuca 8 - the right starting line-up, right not to bring on subs, and right tactics. Pity about the result.

Elsewhere in Mexico
América were unable to turn round a one-goal deficit playing in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana Final against Arsenal de Sarandí. Although they won 2-1 with a goal from Juan Carlos Silva and an own goal, the trophy went to Arsenal on the away goals rule.

Pachuca begin their challenge for the World Club Championship in Japan playing Tunisian club Etoile Sportive du Sahel on Saturday.

Meanwhile Dorados beat Correcaminos 1-0 in Culiacán in the first leg of the Primera 'A' semi-final. Indios beat top-ranked team León 1-0 in Ciudad Juárez in the other match with a goal from Julio Daniel Frías.

Next Up
Second leg of the final in Cancún at 6pm on Sunday.