Match recap: Santos Laguna 1, Puebla F.C. 1

Santos looked like they were going to suffer a rare loss at home, having gone down a goal early in the second half of play. But a good combination play between Alessio Da Cruz and Ignacio Jeraldino saved the day for Santos, turning what looked to be a disappointing boring loss into a draw with its fair share of controversy.

While Puebla got the first shot on goal in the second minute, it was a weak roller and Santos was able to come down the field and win a free kick. Brian Lozano hit it and it went through to Diego Valdés, but his attempt was tipped out by goalkeeper Antony Silva. At the other end, Christian Tabó hit a shot that Gibran Lajud had to make a diving stop on in the seventh minute. But Santos came right back down the field and kept the pressure on, getting a couple of set pieces and making things difficult for the visitors.

In the 12th minute, Juan Segovia floated a shot or cross in on goal that Lajud did well to tip over the bar. Then a few minutes later it was Pablo Parra with a shot that slammed off of the crossbar and onto the turf, bouncing out toward the field of play. In the 26th it was Tabó again with a shot that just missed high. Parra again hit a good shot in the 33rd that Lajud had to push aside. Luckily for Santos, the resulting set pieces went nowhere. Three minutes later it looed like Puebla had scored when Tabó was played down the right all alone in a two-on-one. Lajud came out for the challenge and Tabó went around him, knocking it into the back of the net, but Tabó was ruled to have been offside when he got the initial pass. Puebla had another chance in the 39th that Lajud stopped, but this one too was ruled offside. Diego Valdés had a good chance in stoppage time, but it went over the bar and the teams went into the locker rooms tied 0-0.

Santos made a couple of substitutions at the half in hopes to spark something, and for a few minutes it looked like it would work but in the 51st minute a cross from the left was floated into the box. Emanuel Gularte had all of the space and time he could want, and headed the ball past Lajud to give Puebla the lead.

Gularte started a shoving match a few minutes later when he kicked a dead ball into a prone Jordan Carrillo, earning a yellow card. Santos got a bit of a spark from this, and started getting possession in the final third. Valdés hit a shot from distance in the 67th but it went well over the crossbar and into the stands. In the 75th Santos had what looked to be a decent chance when Silva went up for a ball and collided with Alberto Ocejo, spilling onto the turf and losing the ball. While Ocejo got it, the whistle blew and play was stopped.

Santos kept pressing, and in the 82nd minute Dória hit a shot from distance that missed just wide of the net. They’d finally strike in the 89th minute when Alessio Da Cruz made a nice run and played a ball in to Ignacio Jeraldino, who hit a hard shot. Silva stopped it but Da Cruz never stopped his run and made the tap-in to draw the sides level.

After the re-start, Puebla went down a player when Israel Reyes made a harsh tackle on Félix Torres. Torres was attended to on the field and was able to remain in the game. Then Puebla manager Nicolás Larcamon was shown a yellow card and then a second in quick succession, adding to the chaotic ending of the match. After eight minutes of stoppage time, referee César Arturo Ramos had seen enough and blew the final whistle.

Santos will remain at home to host Rayados on Sunday, September 26 while Puebla returns home to host Cruz Azul on Friday, September 24.

Santos Laguna: Gibran Lajud; Jonathan Díaz, Matheus Dória, Félix Torres, Omar Campos (David Andrade, 75’); Fernando Gorriarán (Alan Cervantes, 75’), Ronaldo Prieto (Alberto Ocejo, 46’); Brian Lozano (Ignacio Jeraldino, 64’), Diego Valdés, Juan Ferney Otero (Jordan Carrillo, 46’); Alessio Da Cruz

Puebla F.C.: Antony Silva; George Corral, Juan Segovia, Lucas Maia, Emanuel Gularte, Pablo Parra; Daniel Álvarez (Amaury Escoto, 76’), Diego De Buen, Javier Salas, Christian Tabó (Guillermo Martínez, 85’); Gustavo Ferrareis (Israel Reyes, 76’)

Scoring: Santos Laguna - Alessio Da Cruz (89’); Puebla F.C. - Emanuel Gularte (51’)

Disciplinary: Santos Laguna - Diego Valdés (Yellow - 80’); Puebla F.C. - Pablo Parra (Yellow - 7’), Emanuel Gularte (Yellow - 60’), Gustavo Ferrareis (Yellow - 68’), Antony Silva (Yellow - 83’), Israel Reyes (Red - 90+1’), Nicolás Larcamon (Yellow - 90+6’, 90+6’)