Mexican Liguilla Final, Santos Laguna Vs. Monterrey: Halftime Update, 2-1 Santos After Two Quick Goals

After a sloppy five minutes or so, the one and only Chupete, Humberto Suazo has scored a great poacher’s finish to tie the score up at 1-1 in the 37th minute. It was exactly the kind of goal one would expect from a man who lists his occupation not as “striker” or “forward,” but “goal scorer.” Big midfielder Jesus Eduardo Zavala won the ball in the air, knocking the ball towards Suazo’s strike partner, Aldo de Nigris. He made a crafty flick towards a shockingly unmarked Suazo. He made no mistake about his finish, quickly powering it low past Osvaldo Sanchez to tie the match. The question has to be asked whether or not Felipe Baloy would have prevented the goal had he been available for today’s match.

The interesting thing about the time leading up to the goal is that the sloppy play would appear to benefit Santos and their quick counter-attacking style. After another four minutes of play, it did exactly that, benefiting Santos by way of a go ahead goal. Striker Carlos Darwin Quintero got onto the end of a Jorge Ivan Estrada cross with his head, directing the ball into the back of the net. Rafael Figueroa, in for the suspended Felipe Baloy, played a great ball to Estrada to jump start the attack. Baloy might have prevented Suazo’s goal, but he might not have played that ball, so let’s call it a push when it comes to the positive and negative impact of Baloy’s absence.

Monterrey defender Ricardo Osorio was injured shortly afterwards, forcing Vucetich into a substitution. Despite the fact that halftime was coming up and tactical changes should have been in order, Vucetich opted to make the closest thing he could to a change that would allow him to keep the same tactics, bringing on Sergio Meza.

At the end of the half, the pace slowed down a bit with Santos knocking around the ball and keeping possession. With Monterrey trailing, it’s unlikely that the second half will begin that way, as they will want to push the pace. However, Vucetich’s lineup, especially with the introduction of Meza, doesn’t really lend itself to this kind of football. Additionally, it takes away a tactical sub.