Tigres dominate in victory over Pumas

Tigres completely dominated a Pumas team with severe problems and got three more points for their campaign after winning 2-0. There was no question of the result after Pumas wasted their few chances up top and had terrible defensive problems.

Surprisingly, it was Pumas who created the first dangerous chance of the game. Kevin Escamilla had a long range shot that Tigres’ keeper Nahuel Guzman almost made a mess off, as he sent it to a corner kick.

Pumas continued having possession but it wouldn’t last very long. Enner Valencia came close to opening the score as he made Alfredo Saldivar make a stop.

Pumas should have opened the scoring when a good play by Alejandro Arribas made an opportunity for Carlos Gonzalez. His initial effort was blocked but the ball to Martin Rodriguez, who had a wide open net but his shot went wide in an awful miss.

The wasted opportunity ended costing Pumas badly when off a corner kick, Julian Quiñones opened the scoring. Pumas defense did a terrible job as Quinoñes was wide open as he lowered the ball and struck the ball while falling down.

Pumas once again wasted another effort when on a 3 vs 2,. Juan Manuel Iturbe took too much time and gave Guzman time to block the shot. Tigres did the same when Quiñones failed to take advantage of a Luis Quintana gift and sent his shot to the stands.

Tigres had a great opportunity but Javier Aquino couldn’t reach a ball that would have had him alone in the front of the keeper.

Quiñones once again came close to scoring but Saldivar blocked his shot and Pumas was lucky that they only trailed by 1-0 at halftime.

The second half started with Tigres looking the more dangerous. After a questionable non call againts Tigres, Pumas once again made a defensive mistake that Quiñones took advantage to score his second goal. Andres Iniestra lost the ball as he tried to move up, and with it, gave a great opportunity for Quiñones to go past Saldivar and score in the open net.

Vargas came close to the 3-0 when he had a great long range shot just go a little wide. Moments later, Saldivar made another big save off Enner Valencia’s near range shot.

Both teams then exchanged chances. Pumas had another good opportunity to open the score when Carlos Gonzalez had a header hit the bar. Tigres came close to a third when a Quiñones blocked shot fell to Jesus Dueñas, who had an open net but sent his shot wide. Finally, Pumas wasted a great opportunity when Pablo Barrera’s shot was mishandled by Guzman but Felipe Mora failed to connect with the rebound. In the ensuing counter attack it was Tigres who missed the opportunity when Saldivar was able to save Valencia’s shot but it fell to Luis Quiñones, whose shot went wide.

In the end, the 2-0 fell short in showing how dominant Tigres was over a struggling Pumas.

The win wasn’t surprising at all for Tigres. Not only are they the better teams but they have had enormous success against Pumas. It might have seemed they got some revenge after Pumas eliminated them last season in the Quarterfinals, in what was deemed an upset (although not surprisingly they won at home in that series too). With the CONCACAF Champions league result, it seems Tigres is starting to click and they are still without their best player, Andre Pierre Gignac.

Meanwhile, Pumas season has been a disaster after a surprisingly good last regular season. Bruno Marinoni could be in the hot seat after losing their Copa MX semifinal against FC Juarez. After the lost, reports were out that Marioni had a fight with a FC Juarez fan, which brought a lot of condemnation from many outlets. Thus now all that is left is for Pumas to try to give fans some hope in their last performances as they wait out the season.