Mexico

Ten-Man Santos Take First Leg Over Morelia

Santos fell to ten men in the second half but still managed to take the victory over Morelia.

Nov 23, 2009 1:17:49 AM

Carlos Darwin Quintero- Santos Laguna vs Montreal Impact (Mexsport)

Photo Gallery

Zoom

Carlos Darwin Quintero- Santos Laguna vs Montreal Impact (Mexsport)

Teams

Despite being down a man Santos pulled off a much needed 2-1 win over Morelia. Santos scored first off Carlos Ochoa. Morelia tied things in the second half with a goal from Hugo Droguett. Santos fell to ten men in the second half but still managed to score once more to take the pivotal first leg.

Vicente Matias Vuoso will be unavailable for Santos in the second leg.

First Half

Santos would start things off, playing in their newly built stadium.

Pedro Quiñonez tried to give his team the lead in the 3rd minute. Quiñonez tried his shot from outside the box but Morelia keeper; Moises Muñoz had no problems controlling the ball.

Santos had majority of the control, but Morelia were slowly building the momentum.

Morelia’s first chance came in the 20th minute. Elias Hernandez drove the ball into the box and had a go. His shot was headed towards goal but Oswaldo Sanchez impeded the ball from going in.

Las Monarcas would have another chance just three minutes later. Adrian Aldrete lined up to take a free kick just outside the box. Aldrete hit it but it just missed the upper left hand angle as the ball went out for a goal kick.

Just as Morelia looked to get in the game Santos delivered a cold hearted blow. Carlos Ochoa drove in the opening goal in the 25th minute. Carlos Darwin Quintero struck the post with his shot but the rebound fell to Ochoa. The forward drove the ball in, despite being in a bad angle to give his team the lead.

Daniel Ludueña got in the action in the 29th minute. Ludueña sent in a shot from outside the box which took a deflection. The shot ultimately ended up in Muñoz’ hands.

The game was mainly kept in the middle after that until a last minute shot from Ludueña. Ludueña had another chance from a free kick and he almost converted. The ball was dropping into goal but Muñoz just kept it out with a diving save.

Santos took a 1-0 lead into the half.

Second Half

Morelia came out firing on all cylinders for the second half. Hugo Droguett scored the tying goal for Morelia in the 49th minute. Droguett entered the box and hit the ball between Oswaldo Sanchez’ legs and into the net. The game was now tied at one a piece.

Things got worse for Santos in the 52nd minute. After arguing for an annulled goal Vicente Matias Vuoso painted himself with yellow twice and was sent off the game. Santos was left with just ten men on the field.

Despite the one man disadvantage, Santos would grab the lead once more in the 62nd minute. Quintero crossed the ball from the left side and Ochoa pulled back and slotted it past Muñoz. Santos now had to hold on to win the game.

Morelia had the tying goal in the 66th minute. Alonso Sandoval found a wide open Hugo Droguett inside the box. Droguett missed the opportunity and the score remained the same.

Despite the disadvantage Santos kept Morelia from creating any real chances.

The game was drawing to a close but Morelia had one more in the 93rd minute. Sandoval sent the last ball into the box and found Luis Gabriel Rey. Rey headed the ball in but it bounced off the cross bar.

Santos held on to win 2-1.

Sylvestre Adame, Goal.com

For more coverage of the Mexican Primera Division, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.

Thank you for your comment!

Please enter your name

Please enter your location

Please share your comment!