A Dramatic and Exciting Ending to the Encounter between Santos Laguna and América
The match between Santos Laguna and América tonight at the Corona Stadium had a few minutes of different reactions that made the fans tremble. The capital team scored a goal at the 90th minute, which left Santos Laguna out of the competition.
However, in the very last moments of added time, Argentine player Julio Furch scored the winning goal for his team (2-1) and secured their spot in the Round of 16 of the Copa MX.
An minute later, Julio Furch had a header just off target. In the 9th minute, Izquierdoz missed a clear opportunity in the small box, failing to connect with a cross from the right.
Cristhian Paredes silenced the stadium with his goal, which tied the game and secured the Group 3 leadership for América, leaving Santos Laguna out of the competition.
It seemed like once again "El Chepo" De la Torre's team had lost the game. However, Furch appeared at the right time and place to score the winning goal, his second of the night.
Santos Laguna entered the match needing a victory to advance. They had their first chance in the 3rd minute with a free kick taken by Gael Sandoval, which demanded a save from Marchesín, who had to jump and deflect it over the crossbar.
For the first few minutes, Santos dominated the game and continued to create chances in the Americanista's box.
In the 13th minute, Mauricio Cuero won the ball on the right side after a pass from Diego de Buen that seemed to be controlled by the Americanista's defense. The Colombian player sped towards the box and, facing Marchesín, took a shot but slightly missed the target.
Santos' pressure eased up, allowing América to regroup and try to create moves in the opposition's defensive line.
Nevertheless, the home team continued to have dangerous opportunities, with combinations that broke through América's defense. They only needed a good finish, but Santos Laguna was struggling with that.
Carlos Darwin was the player for América who showed some imbalance, although he was quite isolated to create any significant plays.
Towards the end of the first half, América had a moment of dominance but failed to take advantage of it. The lack of ideas and precision kept them from troubling goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco throughout the entire first half.
At the start of the second half, a free kick taken by Osmar Mares forced Orozco to make a diving save with both hands.
The actions leveled out until Santos created an extraordinary play. Ulises Dávila fought for the ball in midfield and chipped it towards Mauricio Cuero on the right side. His speed caught the visitors' defense off guard. Cuero faced the last defender but decided to pass the ball to the semi-circle for Julio Furch, who controlled it and placed it with the inside of his right foot against the left post to make it 1-0 in the 54th minute.
Mauricio Cuero attempted a long-range shot that posed a challenge for Marchesín, but he managed to deflect it in the 61st minute.
La Volpe reacted by bringing Oribe Peralta and Diego Lainez onto the pitch since with this partial result, Santos Laguna was taking the top spot in the group away from them.
At the 90th minute, Santos' fans were preparing to celebrate when their beloved Oribe Peralta made a play. He served the ball to Cristhian Paredes, who took a shot that Orozco saved, but the ball remained loose and Paredes followed it in to push it into the net, making it 1-1.
América pushed forward, putting pressure on Santos, who retreated and the danger remained imminent for their goal.
Great disappointment was shown by the Santos fans, who had no choice but to look for one last opportunity. It arrived in the 93rd minute, from a free kick on the right side. Osvaldo Martínez crossed the ball to the far post, where Néstor Araujo rose high and headed it towards the small area, where Furch scored by shooting it across the goal to make it 2-1.
With this result, all three members of Group 3 are tied on six points, but Santos Laguna's better goal difference gives them the leadership position to secure their spot in the next phase of the Copa MX.
Lineups:
Santos Laguna
- 1 Jonathan Orozco
- 2 Javier Abella
- (3 Ventura Alvarado 86')
- 24 Carlos Izquierdoz
- 14 Néstor Araujo
- 19 Jorge Villafaña
- 6 Diego de Buen
- (10 Osvaldo Martínez 57')
- 25 Jorge Enríquez
- 7 Gael Sandoval
- 11 Ulises Dávila
- 8 Mauricio Cuero
- (21 Djaniny Tavares 72')
- 9 Julio Furch
Manager: José Manuel de la Torre
América
- 1 Agustín Marchesín
- 3 Gil Burón
- 4 Erik Pimentel
- 5 Javier Güemez
- 6 Miguel Zamudio
- 15 Osmar Mares
- 21 José Guerrero
- 25 Cristhian Paredes
- 31 Darwin Quintero
- (29 Carlos Rosel 69')
- 297 Ricardo Martín
- (24 Oribe Peralta 60')
- 310 Gerson Torres
- (340 Diego Lainez 60')
Manager: Ricardo La Volpe
Yellow Cards:
Santos - None
América - Pimentel (8'), Burón (31')
Red Cards: None
Referee: Adonai Escobedo
Stadium: Corona
Attendance: 15,771
Time: 20:30