Club Santos Laguna handed Leon FC their third loss of the Clausura 2013 season with a 2-0 victory at the TSM Corona stadium in week 4 of La Liga MX. The “Mexican hoops” return to winning after suffering a defeat at the hands of bottom dweller Puebla FC last week.
Rodrigo Salinas and Oribe Peralta scored for the laguneros earning them their second victory under new coach Pedro Caixinha. The Portuguese coach took over duties at the beginning of the season when the club directive dismissed Benjamin Galindo for failing to reach last season’s playoffs.
The panzas verdes hit the pitch with the intent of earning their first victory of the season. Colombians Eisner Loboa and Hernan Burbano began the game attacking goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez’ net. However, the duo had no success in their attempts.
Santos began to impose their style of play and slowly began to take over control of the field. They broke the net in the 14th minute, but the referee annulled the goal.
The comarca lagunera came to life in the 18th minute of play when Salinas put the ball in the back of the net to give the home side the 1-0 lead. From that moment on the home side did as they pleased with the ball. Santos maintained control of the match keeping the recently ascended team back on their heels.
Leon started the second half motivated and was looking to close the gap. Burbano centered to Edgar Pacheco who hit the ball with his head, but to his misfortune the ball crashed into the crossbar.
Olympic gold medalist Peralta headed a pass from American Herculez Gomez in the 58th to seal the game 2-0. Leon tried to make a comeback, but could not muster the skill. Santos takes the game 2-0 and moves into the fourth position on the league table. They will travel to Mexico City to face Pumas UNAM in week 5.
Leon records another loss. It appears reality has caught up with the “Cinderella” team. In four games they have lost three and drawn one. Earlier this week, they were able to earn a final minute draw against Chile’s Deportivo Iquique in their Copa Libertadores playoff. The Esmeraldas need to get back on track, or could move back into relegation troubles. Leon will host Cruz Azul next week.
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