Austin, United States.- Pumas eliminated Rayados from the Leagues Cup, in a match that was decided in a penalty shootout in which Monterrey missed all three of its shots.
After a 1-1 draw in regulation time in Austin, with goals from Jesús “Tecatito” Corona and Rogelio Funes Mori, the match was decided on penalties, where Julio González blocked shots from Brandon Vázquez and Johan Rojas, and Stefan Medina hit the right post.
For the Pumas, César Huerta, Nathan Silva and Robert Ergas scored, the latter with a Panenka-style finish, to turn around a round that started badly due to Piero Quispe’s mistake.
Now the auriazules will face Vancouver Whitecaps in the Round of 32, while Rayados returns home in yet another of coach Fernando Ortiz’s failures.
It was a do-or-die match, as both clubs had lost to Austin FC.
In regulation time, both goalkeepers, Julio González and Esteban Andrada, failed to score.
It was the 53rd minute when Jesús Corona scored with an empty net, after Germán Berterame headed the ball and thus left Julio out of action. At first, the goal was disallowed for offside, but the VAR corrected the referee and the assistant.
Monterrey thus had a fair reward for its best performance in the match, because in the first half Cortizo, Fimbres and Roberto de la Rosa made the goalkeeper work, and Stefan Medina forgave by hitting the ball with his shoulder when he was unmarked almost in the six-yard box.
Pumas did not change their style despite the urgency, so Rogelio Funes Mori replaced Guillermo Martínez and the team remained with only one forward. It was Robert Ergas, another of the elements that entered as a substitute, who overflowed on the left at 80′ and sent a cross past the second post, poorly measured by Andrada, who simply witnessed the equalizing goal by Funes Mori.
The Pumas striker, who is also the top scorer in Rayados’ history, apologized after his goal. Thus, without celebration, he scored the goal so that the match would be decided in a penalty shootout.
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