When the 90th minute came around at BMO Field on Tuesday night, Santos Laguna and Toronto FC were level at 1-1 and seemingly destined for a draw. But Daniel Luduena and Candido Ramirez changed that, scoring twice in the final minutes to earn Santos a 3-1 win in CONCACAF Champions League action that puts them in control of Group 1.
Toronto FC Vs. Santos Laguna, 2012 CONCACAF Champions League: Santos Strike Late
Santos weren’t at their best in the first half and really struggled to create chances with all of the possession they had. Toronto was organized in defense and were happy to concede the ball and the wings to Santos, knowing that they could defend most crosses, which they did.
It took until the 49th minutes for Santos to breakthrough and it came from Carlos Darwin Quintero. The Colombian was able to get on the end of a chip from Marc Crosas and half-volley past Freddy Hall for the opening tally.
That Santos lead lasted nearly 20 minutes, but Quincy Amarikwa was able to equalize for the home side. Torsten Frings' free kick wasn't cleared by Santoss, who just knocked the ball up into the air a couple times and couldn't get the ball away. That gave Amarikwa the chance to get to the ball and knock it off of the inside of the post and in to level the match at 1-1.
Both teams tried to find a winner late and Santos especially had chances. Hall was called on to make some fine saves and Felipe Baloy rattled the bar, but the visitors couldn’t find a winner.
But in the 90th minute, Luduena finally got Santos the goal they needed. He fed Oribe Peralta before splitting the Toronto defense and getting the ball back from Peralta in front of goal. He cooly slid the ball past Hall and the visitors were on their way to three points.
For good measure, Luduena helped Santos get one more three minutes later. This time he played the role of helped, spotting Ramirez in almost the exact same spot he scored from and Ramirez finished to seal a good win for Santos.
Santos now sit three points clear of Toronto in the group and will host the Reds when they meet again in October. In fact, Toronto will play both of their remaining matches away, making the already tall task of chasing down the heavy favorites Santos nearly impossible. Aguila still sit at the bottom of the group on zero points.
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