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Santos Laguna 3-2 Morelia: Santos holds off late Morelia fightback to become first finalist
Santos Laguna survived a late fightback from Monarcas Morelia to become the first finalist in Mexico's Apertura playoffs.
By Nick Rosano
Santos vs Morelia
Santos Laguna survied a late comeback from Morelia to become the first finalist in Mexico's Apertura playoffs. Christian Suarez scored a pair of goals after Juan Pablo Rodriguez opened the scoring with a penalty, but a pair of goals from Morelia's Angel Sepulveda made things interesting latein the game.
Morelia finished the game with nine men thanks to red cards to Joel Huiqui and Aldo Leao Ramirez.
Santos coach Benjamin Galindo made two changes, partly prompted by the Osmar Mares' suspension for a red card in the previous game. Felipe Baloy made his return to the lineup to fill in for Mares, while Cesar Ibañez replaced Rafael Figueroa at right back.
Morelia coach Tomas Boy named an unchanged side from the one that had claimed a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the series.
Santos, just needing a win at home to advance, naturally attacked more at the outset. The team received an early blow when playmaker Daniel Ludueña fell awkwardly after losing his footing in the Morelia area, forcing Galindo to replace him with Jaime Cardernas.
In contrast to the more open nature of their game three days ago, both teams' defenses proved sturdy through the first half-hour, until one moment turned the series on its head.
Oribe Peralta burst behind the Morelia back line onto a through pass and was brought down from behind from Huiqui on the edge of the area as he was about to shoot. While there was debate as to whether the foul was outside the area, referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez awarded the penalty and showed Huiqui the red card. Juan Pablo Rodriguez drilled the penalty into the top corner to put Santos 1-0 up on the evening and draw the series level at 2-2.
Morelia had a great chance to equalize a few minutes before halftime after Felipe Baloy brought down Luis Sandoval just outside the area. The shot surprised Oswaldo Sanchez, who spilled it with Morelia players lurking, but Rodriguez was on hand to clear the ball and avert any danger.
Despite being a man down, Morelia was obligated to come out in search of the goal that would put it through, but was dealt a blow less than 10 minutes into the second half. Santos put the visitors in an even deeper hole as Peralta glided through the defense and laid off for Suarez, who smashed the ball home.
Suarez thrust the dagger even further in the 65th minute as he found space outside of the Morelia area and drilled the ball home for his second of the evening and Santos' third.
Despite the huge deficit it had to overcome, Morelia continued to push forward, and Joao Rojas put a shot just over the bar after some nifty footwork in the area. The pressure paid off as Gerardo Lugo swung a ball into the far post, and substitute forward Angel Sepulveda headed the ball home with just over 15 minutes to play.
Things continued to get dicey for Santos as the started to draw to a close, and in the 87th minute Sepulveda netted again. He was hauled down as he was attempting a bicycle kick, but still managed to get a toe on it, lifting it over Sanchez and leveling things up on aggregate.
Morelia's hopes of a memorable comeback were put to bed when Ramirez was shown a straight red card for going over the ball on Darwin Quintero, which also forced the Ecuadorian to be carted off. Soon after, Marco Antonio Rodriguez blew the whistle, sending Santos through to the final where it will face either Tigres UANL or Queretaro.
Morelia finished the game with nine men thanks to red cards to Joel Huiqui and Aldo Leao Ramirez.
Santos coach Benjamin Galindo made two changes, partly prompted by the Osmar Mares' suspension for a red card in the previous game. Felipe Baloy made his return to the lineup to fill in for Mares, while Cesar Ibañez replaced Rafael Figueroa at right back.
Morelia coach Tomas Boy named an unchanged side from the one that had claimed a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the series.
Santos, just needing a win at home to advance, naturally attacked more at the outset. The team received an early blow when playmaker Daniel Ludueña fell awkwardly after losing his footing in the Morelia area, forcing Galindo to replace him with Jaime Cardernas.
In contrast to the more open nature of their game three days ago, both teams' defenses proved sturdy through the first half-hour, until one moment turned the series on its head.
Oribe Peralta burst behind the Morelia back line onto a through pass and was brought down from behind from Huiqui on the edge of the area as he was about to shoot. While there was debate as to whether the foul was outside the area, referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez awarded the penalty and showed Huiqui the red card. Juan Pablo Rodriguez drilled the penalty into the top corner to put Santos 1-0 up on the evening and draw the series level at 2-2.
Morelia had a great chance to equalize a few minutes before halftime after Felipe Baloy brought down Luis Sandoval just outside the area. The shot surprised Oswaldo Sanchez, who spilled it with Morelia players lurking, but Rodriguez was on hand to clear the ball and avert any danger.
Despite being a man down, Morelia was obligated to come out in search of the goal that would put it through, but was dealt a blow less than 10 minutes into the second half. Santos put the visitors in an even deeper hole as Peralta glided through the defense and laid off for Suarez, who smashed the ball home.
Suarez thrust the dagger even further in the 65th minute as he found space outside of the Morelia area and drilled the ball home for his second of the evening and Santos' third.
Despite the huge deficit it had to overcome, Morelia continued to push forward, and Joao Rojas put a shot just over the bar after some nifty footwork in the area. The pressure paid off as Gerardo Lugo swung a ball into the far post, and substitute forward Angel Sepulveda headed the ball home with just over 15 minutes to play.
Things continued to get dicey for Santos as the started to draw to a close, and in the 87th minute Sepulveda netted again. He was hauled down as he was attempting a bicycle kick, but still managed to get a toe on it, lifting it over Sanchez and leveling things up on aggregate.
Morelia's hopes of a memorable comeback were put to bed when Ramirez was shown a straight red card for going over the ball on Darwin Quintero, which also forced the Ecuadorian to be carted off. Soon after, Marco Antonio Rodriguez blew the whistle, sending Santos through to the final where it will face either Tigres UANL or Queretaro.
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Results
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Christian Benítez
Striker America (Mexico) |
14 | 3 |
|
Iván Alonso
Striker Toluca |
14 | 2 |
|
Oribe Peralta
Striker Santos Laguna |
13 | 0 |
|
A. De Nigris
Striker Monterrey |
11 | 0 |
|
Lucas Armando Lobos
Midfielder Tigres |
9 | 0 |