It is hard to believe that Leon FC reached the semifinals of the Apertura 2012 with the dismal season they are having. This time the panzas verdes fell 1-0 to Monarcas Morelia at Morelos stadium to kickoff week 6 action of the Clausura 2013 of La Liga MX.
Sergio Santana converted from the penalty spot to give Morelia the only goal of the game. Leon was left with a man down in the 58th minute when Juan Gonzalez was sent off. In the 90th the referee red carded Monarcas player Uriel Alvarez.
Both teams were initiating week 6 with the intent of returning to the winner’s circle. Morelia had fallen to Puebla FC last week. Leon drew with Cruz Azul in their last league game. This game was intense with most of the competition taking place in the midfield.
The closest shot to breaking the net came at the fourth minute of play when Nery Castillo shot forcing goalkeeper Federico Vilar to dive and save his net. The Argentine could not keep possession of the ball and his defender, Alvarez, had to clear it to keep the board from changing.
The second half had the only goal of the game, a doubtful penalty called after Gonzalez took Ecuadorian Joao Rojas down in the area. Santana took the shot and put the Monarchy ahead 1-0.
A few minutes later Gonzalez received a red card for a hard tackle on Colombian Aldo Leao. With a numerical disadvantage, Leon Coach Gustavo Matosas moved his players forward wanting to close the gap. However, this left many open spaces in his back line which allowed Monarcas to make more runs on the net. Leao was close, but the esmeraldas’ goalkeeper kept his net well-guarded.
Leon continued their downward spiral, losing their fourth game and remaining in the 17th position on the league table with two points. Monarcas won their first game since they defeated San Luis FC in week 4. This is their second victory of the Clausura 2013 giving them eight points.
“The most important thing of the evening is that we won the three points,” Monarcas Coach Ruben Omar Romano said at the end of the game. “It was urgent that Morelia won the points.”
In week 5 Monarcas lost to bottom dwellers Puebla FC. The team needed to react if they want to remain in contention.
“Morelia was superior, we could have won by a higher margin,” Romano concluded.
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