SF 2nd Leg: Santos Laguna 4 - 2 Pumas (agg. 4-5)

Video here or here.


In an intense and at times nail-biting second leg in Torreón Pumas scraped through to their first final since 2004, and play Atlante in CU on Thursday and Cancún on Sunday.

The player of the game was undoubtedly Daniel Ludueña, the Argentinian known as "el Hachita", who scored a hat-trick for Santos and whose free kick set up the other for Vuoso.

Pumas started in blue with the same starting line-up as on Thursday in CU, while Santos welcomed back Walter "el lorito" Jiménez into the side. The first few minutes were frantic, the home team desperate to get an early goal and throwing themselves into everything. Pumas found it hard to get into the game and the crowd in Torréon were in ebullient mood, and throwing drinks cups onto the field. Santos had three half chances in the first three minutes, Figueroa heading into Bernal's arms from a first-minute corner, then Vuoso breaking down the left side of the box but shooting wide. There was also an optimistic shout for a penalty as Benítez went down in the area when being pressured by Velarde. And Solari managed to get himself booked for a high-footed lunge on half-way.

By the time five minutes were gone Pumas were starting to edge into the game and despite the fierce pressue Santos were exerting, mount a couple of attacks of their own. Firstly a powerful free-kick from Scocco was just deflected over from Solari's head, and then Pumas scored. An 11th minute corner by Leandro was pushed down by Scocco, and Carlos Humberto González made up for his miss on Thursday by blasting the ball past Becerra from a tight angle to put Pumas one up and four ahead on aggregate.

If Pumas felt at this point they could relax, they were mistaken, and there was an immediate response. Two minutes later Ludueña received the ball just inside the left edge of the Pumas area after a throw-in down the right. With little room to move and tightly marked by Espinoza, he still managed to hit a superb low left-footer across Bernal and into the far corner. There was some discussion that there should not have been a throw-in at all as Moreno was fouled just before, but in any case it made little difference as Santos were back within three.

The game was still frantic, but Pumas were trying to close things down with Velarde in particular working well on Benítez. Pumas were lying very deep and allowing Santos control of the game, and a hard-working Solari was a lonely figure up front for the university team. Castillo the left-back was looking particularly dangerous for Santos, and on one run through the middle he was pulled back by Castro which cost the Pumas number 5 a yellow card. But apart from one Vuoso header into Bernal's arms from a free-kick there was very little goal action and Pumas appeared to have stemmed the flow. They even created a wonderful chance after a fantastic Sambueza cross was met by Solari's head but was directed too close to the keeper who pushed over.

In the last ten minutes of the half, however Santos took complete control. Benítez latched on to a ball from Ludueña and pushed it past Bernal but with insufficient force and it was cleared, then Ludueña scored his second. Vuoso ran well down the right to reach the by-line, fed it to Benítez whose neat turn fed Ludueña five yards out. Again closely marked, a neat swivel and shot put the ball past Bernal. Santos were now well and truly in the game.

Tuca realised the importance of the moment and withdrew Sambueza to reinforce the defence with Verón. Santos were playing at the limit and with intensity, which included the sending-off of their physical trainer, Luis Bongiovanni, who could not control his passions on the sideline. Roberto García did a fantastic job of refereeing the game but his talents were stretched as Santos willingly threw themselves to the ground looking for fouls, while at the same time putting in some dangerous crosses that the Pumas defence struggled to clear. Indeed Castillo was booked for a clear dive in the area and Vuoso immediately afterwards for remonstrating with García about it. Pumas had little control of the game and the only relief, other than the eventual arrival of the half-time whistle, was a great run through the middle by Barrera who was just foiled in the box by Ortiz.

Pumas seemed more composed at the beginning of the second half, but Santos kept fighting. It seemed as if they had reduced the deficit to one within 4 minutes of the restart when a Ludueña shot was blocked by Bernal and the ball fell invitingly to Vuoso. But Moreno pulled off an astonishing tackle under pressure and the danger was cleared.

Nevertheless Pumas were able to keep the ball for longer periods and Santos were having to put in more work. Then on 53 minutes it looked as if the game was all over. A long clearance was nodded on by Solari and Scocco ran through the middle coolly rounding the keeper and slotting it home for Pumas' second to restore the three-goal cushion. Pumas fans finally found their voice while the up-until-then vociferous Santos support went quiet. The game began to be played in the midfield area and the intensity dropped. Needing to change something, coach Daniel Guzmán brought on Peralta and Barrera for Torres and a desperately tired Walter Jiménez. Meanwhile Pablo Barrera was booked for a handball.

Just as it seemed the game was dying with fifteen minutes to go, and Palencia on for Scocco, Ludueña earned a soft free kick on the edge of the area, floated it in to Jorge Barrera who nodded on for Vuoso to power a header past Bernal. Again Santos were in with a chance and the "laguneros" were sparked into life. Pumas were more balanced than during this period in the first half but Santos' intensity created problems, and yet again there was a deal of diving, mostly spotted by the referee, but Vuoso was pardoned for a dive in the box that should have seen him sent off.

With only a minute or so left of normal time the rhythm had dropped and both teams looked tired, but suddenly a rebound in midfield broke to Ludueña who poked the ball expertly past Bernal and Santos were back within a goal. This brought on a furious last minute and four minutes of stoppage time including a scramble in the Pumas area right on the final whistle which a timely Leandro tackle just managed to clear. Pumas had held on, and Santos, the best team in the tournament, were out.

Goals
C.H. González (11 minutes) 0-1
Ludueña (13) 1-1
Ludueña (36) 2-1
Scocco (53) 2-2
Vuoso (75) 3-2
Ludueña (89) 4-2

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Solari (foot-up lunge); Castro (pulling back); Barrera (handball)
Santos: yellow: Castillo (diving); Vuoso (remonstrating with the referee)

Player Ratings
Bernal 7 - not at fault for any of the goals and a couple of important saves
Espinoza 6 - amazingly did well despite Ludueña scoring three
Moreno 8 - the most composed of the back four
González 7 - good goal; continues to impress
Velarde 7 - worked very hard on Benítez
Castro 6 - not his best afternoon, unable to keep possession
Leandro 6 - ok but under a lot of pressure
Sambueza 7 - looked dangerous again
Barrera 7 - his running gave Pumas a much-needed outlet
Solari 7 - worked very hard as the lone striker
Scocco 8 - always looked the most likely to score
Verón 7 - the added calm helped Pumas in the second half
Iñiguez 6 - not bad but with the state of the game had little influence
Palencia 6 - looks like he is slowly coming back but lacks sharpness

Tuca 8 - again substitutions spot on

Elsewhere in Mexico
Atlante scraped through into the final against Pumas, going through as the higher-ranked team after a draw on aggregate and a 1-0 win against Chivas in the Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo in Cancún. An early goal by Giancarlo Maldonado forced Chivas to push forward, but they were unable to find a way through a determined "potros" (colts) defence. Omar Bravo should have had a penalty as his shirt was tugged in the area, but perhaps because of his dive for the penalty in the first leg, Armando Archundia waved play on. Maybe that is justice as it is never good to see players profiting from deceiving the referee. Both sides had their chances during the game, Medina hitting the woodwork for Chivas and Nkong almost scoring with his first touch after coming on as a substitute.

The final game of the championship will therefore take place in Cancún on Sunday, and whatever happens it has been a wonderful first season there for Atlante, playing to full houses and enthusiastic support, while playing exciting and successful football. There are many who find the moving of team "franchises" to different locations a bit odd, particularly those used to football in Europe, but this has undoubtedly been a success.

Finally the quarter finals of Primera 'A' were completed over the weekend, and the semi-finalists are Dorados de Culiacán, León, Correcaminos de Ciudad Victoria and Indios de Ciudad Juárez.

Next Up
The final in CU on Thursday and Cancún on Sunday, at 9pm in CU and at 6pm in Cancún.