MORELIA, Mexico – Monarcas Morelia defeated Santos Laguna 3-1 at the Morelos stadium here Friday to open the sixth week of the Clausura 2012. The team led by Tomas Boy began the game with a very aggressive stance from the first sound of the whistle.
Defender Rafael Figueroa saved Santos in the second minute of play. Joao Rojas took a shot that went past goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez, announcing what was to come in the game. Figueroa cleared the ball on the line, sending it to a corner to stop Monarcas.
Miguel Sabah scored the first goal of the game, as Monarcas constantly insisted on their opponent’s net. Gerardo Lugo saved the ball at the corner flag, auto passed it to himself to beat defender Osmar Mares. He controlled the ball and kicked it to Sabah who ran in on first touch to hammer it into the net at the 23rd.
Santos had not recovered from the first goal when Sabah appeared again at the 25th minute. He received a pass between two defenders from Christian Valdez. He controlled it with his foot, took a few steps and put the sphere past a sliding Sanchez.
The visitors would respond to Monarcas’ attacks. Ecuadorian Cristian Suarez crossed the ball behind the Monarcas defense to Darwin Quintero. The Colombian hit the ball, but it bounced off defender Adrian Aldrete who scored an own goal against goalkeeper Federico Vilar to put Santos back in the game. The ball was travelling at a fast speed giving the Argentine no chance of stopping it.
Rojas continued his good performance when he chipped the ball over Sanchez on a counter run. The sphere landed in front of Gerardo Lugo who, also on first touch drove the ball into an open net to make the game 3-1 in compensation time in favor of Monarcas.
The Monarchy effectively ended Santos Laguna’s undefeated streak this season. Despite the loss, Santos remains at the top of the Mexican league table. However, Tigres UANL or Atlante FC could move into the first position after their games this weekend. For now, Morelia ends with 11 points and is temporarily in the 2nd position.
Comments