Tigres hold off Pachuca to reach Liga MX Semifinals

A goal from Andre-Pierre Gignac helped Tigres advance to the 2019 Liga MX Clausura Semifinals after a 1-1 draw with Pachuca in the second leg of their Quarterfinals clash.

Pachuca were unlucky not to go into this second leg with the lead and came close to going in front when a long-range effort from Erik Aguirre was saved by Nahuel Guzman.

Otherwise, the first half was one to forget, with Tigres in particular going into the locker room booed by their own fans.

Andre-Pierre Gignac was quick provide a spark in the second half, doing well to weave his way past his defender before sending a shot right to Alfonso Blanco’s hands.

Gignac then missed a golden opportunity when Enner Valencia’s headed pass fell perfectly for the French striker, who failed to put enough power on his header.

Angelo Sagal was brought on for Leonardo Ulloa and not long later forced Guzman to a quick save.

Sagal’s effort was a warning for what was to come, as in the 80th minute he pounced off a corner to put Los Tuzos within minutes of advancing to the Semifinals.

But Tigres didn’t take long to respond, and it was Andre-Pierre Gignac who regave Tigres the advantage with a simple header.

Gignac’s goal meant Pachuca would need one more goal to advance, but while Los Tuzos threw players forward in search of a winner, at the end it was Los Felinos who survived a scare to advance to another Liga MX Semifinal.