Atletico San Luis bounce back to defeat a struggling Pumas at home

Atletico San Luis got a great victory at home after bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit to get a 3-2 win over Pumas. San Luis came back with a lot of effort and took advantage of a Pumas team that disappeared in the second half, once again showing the terrible defensive mistakes that they have had all season so long. San Luis got their second win, but climbed all the way to 10th place while the loss drops Pumas out of the repechaje zone to the 15th. San Luis will remain at home to face first place Toluca on Sunday, while Pumas returns home to face Santos Laguna.

The first half started with the surprise that Pumas was benching striker Juan Ignacio Dinenno for Diogo de Olivera. San Luis meanwhile came out with their normal starting eleven. There was a controversial play when off of a free kick, Nicolas Freire got a header that looked to be handled by Ricardo Chavez. After going to VAR, the referee decided to give Pumas a penalty kick. Eduardo Salvio stepped up to take the PK and placed his right footed shot past San Luis’ goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero for the 1-0 lead. Pumas however then wasted a great chance when Diogo made a great pass in the area to Gustavo del Prete, but del Prete took too much time getting off a shot before Barovero blocked it. Barovero then forced del Prete to make a pass out of the area where Pumas eventually lost the ball. San Luis had a good chance when a pass into the area found Vitinho, but his shot went straight to the arms of Pumas’ goalkeeper Julio Gonzalez. Then after a pass to Dani Alves that Diogo got to, he got a cross that Higor Meritao bicycle kicked into a great pass to Eduardo Salvio, who headed the ball in as he was inches from the line for the 2-0 lead. A bad sliding tackle from Ricardo Galindo dropped Facundo Waller as he was making a run in the area and the ref gave a penalty to San Luis. Abel Hernandez stepped up to take it and his left footed shot went past Gonzalez to make it 2-1. Pumas then had to sub out Eduardo Salvio, who injured himself prior to the match and was doubtful before it, for Cesar Huerta. Off of a corner kick, Freire rose to head the ball but Barovero made a good save. Later del Prete got off a shot from outside the area that went wide. The halftime whistle blew and Pumas took the lead, although San Luis had evened out the match at least in possession.

The two teams came out in the second half with Pumas hoping to get back and improve on offense after the momentum hit that was the injury to Salvio, while San Luis hoped to keep their improvement in level of play that happened in the last part of the first half. After a couple of even minutes, a cross into the area found Abel Hernandez, who got off a left footed volley past Julio Gonzalez for the 2-2 equalizer. Hernandez was left wide open, as once again Pumas had made a defensive mistake that cost them. San Luis came close again when Vitinho went past a slow Adrian Aldrete and got off a left footed shot that went past Gonzalez but his the post. Then after another good run and a terrible defensive display from Pumas, Abel Hernandez got the ball in the area and got off a left footed shot past Gonzalez for the 3-2 lead. Pumas had lost itself completely and needed to change things. They subbed out Gustavo del Prete (who had another bad match) and Marco Garcia for Juan Ignacio Dinenno and Jorge Ruvalcaba. San Luis subbed out the injured Vitinho for Juan Manuel Sanabria. Off of a free kick, Fernando Leon got off a great shot from long range that forced Gonzalez to make a great save. Minutes later Leon hurt himself running into the area, and had to come out of the match. Ramon Juarez was subbed in his place. Off of a counter, San Luis had a great chance when Jhon Murillo got a one-on-one but his shot went wide in a terrible miss. Pumas answered back with Huerta getting off a left footed shot that forced Barovero to make a save. Then off of a corner kick, Diogo got a header that forced Barovero to make another big save. San Luis subbed out Jhon Murillo and Abel Hernandez for Juan Castro and Sabin Merino, while Pumas subbed out Pablo Bennevendo for Carlos Gutierrez. The last minutes had Pumas trying to equalize but they didn’t even come close to the area, and San Luis got a great victory while Pumas continued their crisis.

On the back of an Abel Hernandez hat trick, San Luis had their best result of the season in their comeback victory. In front of a very good crowd, they fought solidly and took advantage of Pumas’ struggles. Once again Coach Andre Jardine out coached Pumas’ Coach Andres Lillini and sent the team into a sure crisis. The home team took advantage of the very weak match from Aldrete on the left side and had a number of chances that turned the tide. On the other hand, Pumas confirmed they were in full crisis, although they might have never left them. In the second match of their season, they took a 3-0 lead away against Leon, who were down to ten players for most of the match. Still Pumas allowed Leon to get back in the game and get a 3-3 tie in a match they could have won had they not had only ten players. Now Pumas once again did a terrible job protecting a lead and lost a match they had winning 2-0 to a 3-2 score. After their terrible result against their big rival in Club America, Pumas easily looks the worst they have this season, and if they don’t get a result against Santos on Sunday, things will look real bleak. San Luis might have gotten a result that turns thing around them this season, but they will have a tough test at home when they face the leader Toluca on Sunday at home.