CONCACAF CL Game 6: Pumas 6 - 0 San Francisco

Video here.

In a largely irrelevant sixth group game, Pumas overwhelmed bottom-of-the-table San Francisco of Panama. The Panamanians performance cannot have pleased their manager Gary Stempl since it could charitably be described as abject. They managed only two goal attempts all match neither of which was even close to being on target, while Pumas kept the ball easily and attacked at will.

The home side started with the now accostumed mix of youth and experience, the first-team players this time being David Toledo (picture), Juan Francisco Palencia and Carlos Humberto González. Martín Bravo made his first start in the Ciudad Universitaria.

From the beginning it was clear that San Francisco were to offer little, and in particular Espinoza and Toledo down the right looked like they were playing against a village side, so easily did they move the ball around. Palencia was sluggish at the start, but Bravo darted about in a lively manner and was keen to take on the defenders. Nevertheless it seemed that Pumas were being over patient in their build-up play as they still had not made the breakthrough after half-an-hour.

Finally from a Toledo corner Palencia opened the scoring. Climbing high just outside the six-yard box he nodded the near-post delivery into the far corner past the incompetent lunge of the defender on the line. Toledo was finding ever more space and it was only a matter of time before the second goal came. On 40 minutes Toledo beat his marker and sent in a cross to the far post which Bravo finished with a powerful header, a just reward for the Argentinian's persistance, and some justification for his comments about wanting to play in the middle.

Pumas were now comfortable and there was a party atmosphere in the ground. Half time came and Tuca brought off Bravo (possibly with half an eye on the Chivas game) and replaced him with Javier Cortés. The third goal came almost immediately when Toledo was put through by a lovely long ball from González. He seemed to have lost the opportunity as he turned back behind the defenders but then finished beautifully with a low shot from outside the area.

San Francisco were in disarray and there now seemed the possibility that Pumas could reach double figures, so slack was the tackling and marking of the Central Americans. Palencia got the 4th on 54 minutes after he was put through one-on-one by Pineda, and then proceeded to miss a similar chance minutes later. Man of the match David Toledo came off shortly afterwards and it only remained for two lesser lights to complete the scoring.

Firstly Javier Cortés beat his marker inside the left side of the area and fired hard into the far corner past Valdez, his job undoubtedly made easier by lazy defending. Finally Fernando Santana was given acres of space outside the area, and he took advantage with a nice long range effort for the sixth.

Pumas, ironically given their shortage of goals in the Mexican championship, finish as leading goalscorers in the CONCACAF Champions League group stages, scoring thirteen in their three home games. It is refreshing to see the less experienced players making their mark, and it is no coincidence that Pumas Morelos are doing so well this season in Primera A. Pumas will find out their quarter-final opponents in December, and will be joined by the winner of the Dynamo v Firpo clash in Houston (Firpo go though in the event of a draw).

Goals
Juan Francisco Palencia (29 minutes) 1-0
Martín Bravo (40) 2-0
David Toledo (48) 3-0
Juan Francisco Palencia (54) 4-0
Javier Cortés (60) 5-0
Fernando Santana (72) 6-0

Cards
Pumas: none
San Francisco: yellow: Torres, Olivares

Player Ratings
Alejandro Palacios 5 - put under no pressure and had nothing to do
Fernando Espinoza 7 - full of bustle, and linked up well with Toledo
Luis Fuentes 6 - not challenged in the middle but initiated attacks dynamically
C.H. González 6 - defending against this team was a walk in the park
Juan Carlos Ramírez 5 - did reasonably well but he and Pineda didn't really click
Alex Diego 6 - won the ball well but his distribution was ponderous
Fernando Santana 6 - looking more and more confident
Orlando Pineda 5 - not his best game but a talent for the future
David Toledo 8 - stood head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch
Martín Bravo 7 - quick and direct, he looks better with each game, although admittedly here against poor opposition
Juan Francisco Palencia 6 - two good goals but should have had four
Javier Cortés 6 - dynamic with good movement but lacks a bit of pace
Luis Rosas 6 - the best compliment to pay him is that the rhythm did not drop when he replaced Toledo
Eduardo Herrera 5 - little time to impress but nevertheless put himself about

Tuca 7 - again good team selection, and there is certainly a good crop of players coming through, and hopefully putting pressure on for first team spots

Elsewhere in Mexico
Gabriel Pereyra and Clement Ovalle got the goals as Atlante went joint top of their group by beating Montreal Impact 2-1 in Cancún. Cruz Azul will have to wait and see if they qualify after going down 1-0 to Saprissa in Costa Rica, having Rogelio Chávez and Carlos Bonet sent off in the process. A draw between Marathón and Saprissa in the final game would put the Mexico City team out of the competition. Santos finished top of their group after drawing 4-4 with Municipal of Guatemala in a game of 4 penalties. Agustín Herrera converted two for the Laguneros as part of a hatrick. The draw for the quarter finals will be made in December.

Next Up
Pumas travel to Chivas where they have not won for over 20 years. Pumas Morelos entertain Veracruz.