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Toluca Fight Off Feisty San Luis Side To Reach Liguilla Semis
Hector Raul Mancilla scored midway through the second half as Toluca beat San Luis 1-0 and claimed their quarterfinal series.
Nov 29, 2009 8:41:01 PM
While the series finished with a 1-1 aggregate draw, Toluca advanced to the semifinals on the strength of their regular-season record and will meet Monterrey.
The match was in doubt for much of the game. San Luis' tough defense nearly helped the visitors pull off the upset as Toluca went through much of the game with little semblance of an attack.
It was not until the 78th minute that Toluca struck, as an unlikely source helped Toluca find the back of the net. Diego Novaretti walked towards the middle of the field and lifted a long ball over San Luis' defense and into the penalty area. Mancilla charged onto the ball as San Luis' Adrian Martinez raced off his line to try and beat Mancilla to the ball. Mancilla flicked the ball forward, though, as Martinez dived. The ball went slowly towards the goal and Mancilla ran onto it. As Pablo Cesar Aguilar slid to try and clear the ball away, Mancilla slipped it into the empty net and Toluca madly celebrated their goal.
San Luis though fought back and nearly pulled off the late equalizing goal. Braulio Luna fired a cross to the front of the six-yard box from the left side of the field in second-half stoppage time. Victor Hugo Lojero headed the ball on goal as Toluca 'keeper Alfredo Talavera stood and watched. The ball bounced off the right post and directly in front of Talavera, who had only to dive on the ball and secure it to keep the visitors from scoring.
Moments later, San Luis threw in the towel when Tressor Moreno was sent off.
Toluca survived the quarterfinal round, unlike last season when a pesky Indios side stunned los Diablos. This season, however, the superlider will move on to play the fifth-seeded Rayados.
Goal.com
For more coverage of the Mexican league playoffs, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.
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