Pumas got their first away win of the season tonight in Veracruz as they defeated the Tiburones Rojos 4-1. It was a tough victory that got complicated because of Pumas’ mistakes after a great first half but the score reflected on who was the better team. Pumas moves up into qualification zone after getting a key victory.
Pumas dominated the first half and displayed some of the best football of the season against a Veracruz team that is one of the worst this season. Still, bad misses from the Pumas forwards and a good performance from Pedro Gallese at goalkeeper kept the score 0-0.
Finally, Abraham Gonzalez was able to open the score and it looked like Pumas was going on for a goal fest when they got a penalty kick. Incredibly, Pumas defender Dario Veron took it and proceeded to miss it. The half ended 1-0, but after Veron’s miss, there was the feeling that Pumas had given Veracruz life.
The start of the second half opened up with a disastrous Pumas mistake and Julio Furch tied the game against the run of play.
Thankfully for Pumas, Matias Britos made a great fake that allowed Fidel Martinez to score and take the lead.
Nonetheless, Pumas had their worse spell of the match and Veracruz had the ball but failed to create much danger. Jesus Paganoni of Veracruz got a second yellow and Veracruz’s day was over with the red card. Pumas completely dominated the game after that and Luis Fuentes scored a great long range goal in the final minutes of the game to put the game at 3-1.
In extra time, Abraham Gonzalez scored his second goal after a Veracruz defender failed to clear the ball and the game ended 4-1.
Pumas’ win places them back in qualification zone for the Liguilla, although they need to wait for other results to see if they stay there until next week when they face Morelia at home. Veracruz, who are already eliminated, will face a tough game away to Monterrey.