Game 10: Atlas 2 - 2 Pumas

Video here.

Pumas blew an excellent chance to finish the weekend top of their group as they allowed a persistent Atlas side to claw their way back into a match that should have been over. A Bruno Marioni penalty deep into injury time gave the "Zorros" (foxes) a draw they should not have been allowed to claim.

Pumas started with the same line-up as last week, but with Chiapas continuing for the injured Leandro in midfield. And they could not have had a better start. A nice through ball by Sambueza put Scocco clear and as he raced into the box he was taken down by Jimenez. Scocco went down very easily but the decision looked clear. Nevertheless watching Scocco pressing the referee for Jimenez´s sending off was unfortunate.

Despite a poor first attempt at the penalty by Solari, he was lucky to be given a second chance as players encroached into the area (they do on virtually every penalty so in that sense Solari was lucky). Second time around Solari found the bottom left-hand corner and Pumas were one up and playing against ten.

Not surprisingly Pumas pushed forward down both flanks looking to press home the advantage, and got a second midway through the half as Solari stole in front of the defence to poke home a Scocco cross from close-range. Pumas were controlling the game and well on top without really threatening to go further ahead and looked comfortable on their 2-0 half-time lead.

Atlas manager Miguel Angel Brinidisi sensed something was needed and brought on Vera and Omar Flores at half-time. It paid off wonderfully as Vera floated in a dangerous free-kick from the right and Flores finished with a well-placed header.

Pumas began to look nervous and Tuca brought on Gonzalez to bolster the defense as they looked to hold on while Atlas pushed forward. Nevertheless the university had countless chances to increase their lead on the break, Scocco the main culprit missing three good opportunities, admittedly once striking the post. Jorge Bava was also in good form in the Atlas goal and going into injury time Pumas were still only a goal ahead.

Then Atlas persistance paid off in the 93rd minute. A Colotto shot struck Gonzalez´s arm and ex-Puma Marioni stepped up to slot the penalty and steal a point for the black and reds. The Mexican Federation supports this kind of penalty award but for me it was contentious in the extreme. Gonzalez was no more than a foot away from Colotto and the ball was blasted at him (and incidentally going nowhere near the goal). There was no time to get anything out of the way. If all you need to do to gain a penalty is blast the ball at defenders in the hope it touches their arm the situation gets silly. Pumas should have killed the game off and Atlas persevered right to the end: in some senses the result was just even if the manner of it was strange.

So Pumas now lie fifth in group one but only one point behind leaders Jaguares, and Solari moved level with Omar Bravo as leading goalscorer with 7.

Goals
Solari (9 minutes)(pen) 0-1
Solari (27) 0-2
Flores (47) 1-2
Marioni (93)(pen) 2-2

Cards
Pumas: yellow: F.Espinoza, Iniguez, Sambueza, Solari
Atlas: red: Jimenez; yellow: Marioni, Centurion, Medina

Player Ratings
Bernal 7 - could do nothing about the goals
F.Espinoza 6 - solid
Palacios 6 - looked in no trouble but got panicky late on
Veron 6 - has to take responsibility for jittery defence
Sambueza 7 - looked dangerous as usual
Iniguez 6 - his best game for a while
Castro 6 - sound and some nice passes from the back
G.Espinoza 5 - still not convincing
Solari 7 - two goals but how often have we said he should have had more
Scocco 5 - at least he was more involved, but he has to put away those chances
Chiapas 6 - not bad but he is no Leandro
Gonzalez 5 - I would prefer us not to try and hold on to results with a 5-man defence
Palencia 6 - reasonable job
Morales - only on for a couple of minutes

Tuca 6 - 2-0 up against ten men. He must be furious with his players but he was over cautious. 3-0 would have killed the game off.

Elsewhere in Mexico
On Friday night Chivas left behind their Copa Libertadores defeat against Deportivo Cucuta to add to Veracruz´s relegation worries with a 2-1 win in the Estadio Luis Pirata Fuentes. On Saturday San Luis gained a good win against La Volpe´s Monterrey who suffered their third consecutive defeat, this time 3-1. Morelia´s bad run continues with a 2-0 home defeat by Tecos, and in a rare game with more goals than cards Puebla beat Tigres 3-0 in Monterrey.

A depleted Pachuca side came back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw in Necaxa after ex-Puma Gerardo Galindo was sent off for a second yellow. Gabriel Pereyra got a late equaliser for Atlante to draw 2-2 in Toluca while new star Itamar Baptista grabbed a brace for Jaguares in their 3-1 win at Santos. Miguel Sabah also scored two in Cruz Azul´s 2-2 draw with America.

Jaguares now top group one on goal difference from Toluca, but the first five clubs are all within a point. Despite defeat Santos still have a clear advantage over Atlas in group two, and Chivas lead group three by 3 points from San Luis. America prop up the general table, one point behind Veracruz, who are 8 points behind Tigres in the relegation fight.

Next Up
Home to Santos on Sunday.