Match recap: Santos Laguna 4, Puebla 1

A convincing win by Santos Laguna despite playing half of the match down a player. A brace from Julio Furch and goals from Adrian Lozano and Diego Valdés ensured Los Laguneros would remain undefeated and untied at the end of Week 4.

In the ninth minute, Adrian Lozano hit a shot that ricocheted off of the crossbar and out. It wouldn’t be long before Santos would breath through however. In the 14th minute, Ulíses Rivas would get his head on a corner kick and put it past Nicolás Vikonis to give Santos the lead.

Santos would keep pressing and in the 29th minute they’d get a second. Eryc “La Culebra” Castillo would make a fantastic move down along the end line and flick a pass in to Julio Furch, and Furch would get a touch on the ball and put it into the back of the net.

As the clock struck 45 minutes, Fernando Gorriarán found some space in the box and forced Vikonis to come out and make a save on the shot. There was some scarm moments in stoppage time as Matheus Dória and Jesús Zavala went for a ball and Dória caught Zavala flush in the face with his elbow. While it was unintentional, the referee showed Dória the red card and awarded the penalty. Matías Alustiza would convert from the spot to draw one back for Puebla at the half.

Shortly after the start of the second half, Julio Furch was fouled in the box by Néstor Vidrio and a penalty was awarded. Furch would step up and convert from the spot to put Santos back up by two.

There’d still be some nervy moments for Santos. Jonathan Orozco made a stop on a long range shot in the 76th minute, and just a few minutes later Félix Torres would get in the way of a shot and deflect it out of harm’s way.

Santos would tack one on in the 88th minute when Diego Valdés would get the ball low in the box, spin away from Vikonis, and calmly slot the ball into the back of the net. This was the culmination of a great play by the entire team, refusing to give up and instead continuing to move the ball forward and probe for the openings in Puebla’s defense.

Santos remain perfect through four and will head to Aguascalientes to face Necaxa next Sunday, while Puebla returns home to face Pachuca on Friday.

Santos Laguna: Jonathan Orozco; Gerardo Arteaga, Matheus Dória, Hugo Rodríguez, Emilio Orrantía; Eryc Castillo, Fernando Gorriarán (Diego Valdés, 86’), Ulíses Rivas, Brian Lozano (José Juan Vázquez, 80’); Julio Furch, Adrian Lozano (Félix Torres, 46’)

Puebla: Nicolás Vikonis; Brayan Angulo, Daniel Arreola, Néstor Vidrio, Pablo González; Jesús Zavala, Alejandro Chumacero (Rodolfo Salinas, 35’), Christian Marrugo (Alan Acosta, 57’), Christian Tabó, Matías Alustiza, Omar Fernández (Jorge Zárate, 78’)

Scoring: Santos Laguna - Ulíses Rivas (14’), Julio Furch (29’, 47’ - penalty), Diego Valdés (88’); Puebla - Matías Alustiza (45+7’ - penalty)

Disciplinary: Santos Laguna - Matheus Dória (Red, 45+5’), Guillermo Almada (Yellow - 73’); Puebla - Christian Marrugo (Yellow - 22’), Néstor Vidrio (Yellow - 46’), Rodolfo Salinas (Yellow - 51’), Daniel Arreola (Yellow - 64’)