Mexico League Primera Division is coming to an end with Leon facing Pachuca
Leon defeated Toluca 1-0 on Sunday in the Semifinal to win 2-0 on aggregate over two legs. Pachuca lost 4-2 to Santos Laguna but advance to finals due to the away goals after its 2-0 victory against at Santos Laguna in their first match. The final is set to be played on Thursday at 6:00 pm at El Estadio Leon and the defining game on Sunday at 6:00 pm at Estadio Hidalgo.
Leon defeated second best Toluca. In the 180 minutes, Toluca couldn’t score against Leon, whose goalkeeper was a huge factor not allowing the ball to get inside his area, Leon who was in eighth place defeated Cruz Azul, who was the leader of the League and favorite to take the trophy home. Santos player, Rafael Figueroa, scored the first goal in the 11th minute as everything seemed to be starting well, Santos dominated until a very costly error. Santos goalkeeper, Oswaldo Sanchez kicked Pachuca striker Enner Valencia. sending Oswaldo to the showers early. Santos paid the price by putting in an inexperienced goalkeeper in Julio Gonzalez and within minutes, Pachuca’s striker Enner tied the the score making it 1-1. Minutes before the fist half was over, Pachuca midfielder Dieter Villalpando scored making it 2-1 as the tides favored Pachuca.
In the second half, Santos Laguna kept on pushing Pachuca back into their own area and on minute 68, Juan Pablo put the tying goal in the back of the net, making it a 2-2 game. Javier Orozco scored the 3rd while Figueroa scored the 4th goal, keeping the hopes of the fans but it was too late as the miracle would never happen. The ticket to the final slipped out of Santos’ hands with the aggregate score of 4-4, Pachuca winning on away goals.
Both finalists share an owner in businessman, Carlos Slim, possesing a 30 percent stake in each team so no matter who wins Carlos Slim will be happy.
Photo Credit: FoxSports