Midweek musings: Tigres, Santos and a big moustache
The Liga MX enjoyed a productive night north of the border, while Toluca hired a familiar, moustachioed face.
The Tigres and Club Santos Laguna appear headed for a semifinal clash in the Concacaf Champions League after each won 2-0 road games against MLS opponents.
Two more CCL quarterfinal matches are set for Wednesday, including another Liga MX-MLS clash as Atlanta United visits Monterrey.
Tigres roar late
The Tigres and a huge contingent of their fans traveled to Houston to face the Dynamo in their CCL quarterfinals first-leg match and returned home with a 2-0 victory. Enner Valencia scored only 8 minutes after he was denied by goalie Joe Willis in a 1-on-1 vs the Houston goalie and Julián Quiñones finished a beautiful fast break with the second only 3 minutes later.
The match was a rough-and-tumble affair (the Tigres committed 23 fouls) with both teams fighting hard to control midfield. For most of the second half, the Tigres controlled possession (finishing the game at 62%) and finally starting finding space in their offensive third.
In minute 78, right back “Chaka” Rodríguez dribbled down the flank, then cut in, filtering a pass to Valencia just outside the box. The Ecuadorian popped a pass over the defender to his right and Quiñones raced onto it, quickly centering back to Valencia who had turned into the box. Valencia got to the ball before the onrushing Willis and slotted home.
A few minutes later, Jesús Dueñas stole the ball in the defensive third and zipped a pass to Valencia near the midfield stripe. Valencia immediately turned and lofted a long pass to Quiñones, who trapped the ball, spun his marker around and left-footed a shot off the underside of the crossbar.
The return match is next Tuesday at Estadio Universitario.
Santos perks up
In New Jersey, Santos scored either side of halftime to snatch a critical road win over the New York Red Bulls with Santos keeper Jonathan Orozco playing the hero.
Only seconds into the match, Kaku sent Bradley Wright-Phillips in alone on Orozco, but the goalie got a hand on the shot that was ticketed for the net. Less than half an hour later, Orozco again played the magician, denying Daniel Royer from close range with a kick save to prevent the Red Bulls from taking the lead. Shortly after, Wright-Phillips just missed wide with a header.
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In minute 42, Santos winger Brian Lozano fed striker Julio Furch outside the box with his back to goal. Furch spun and filtered a pass to Diego Valdés (pictured at top) and the midfielder swiveled his hips to elude his marker and fired home short side for a 1-0 lead.
Only 3 minutes after halftime, Orozco sent a clearance past midfield and Santos controlled, quickly shifting to the right with a pass to Lozano who waited for his teammates to move into the box. Lozano zipped a pass to Javier Correa as he made a short diagonal run, Correa clipped the pass farther forward and Furch was the only one to react. The Argentine easily slotted home for a 2-0 lead.
Santos closed out the match and returns home with a tremendous advantage. The return match is next Tuesday at Estadio Corona in Torreón.
Turning back the clock in Toluca
Ricardo La Volpe was named head coach of Toluca on Monday, taking over for Hernán Cristante, a man La Volpe coached back when Cristante was playing goalie for the Diablos Rojos.
La Volpe coached Toluca for almost 4 seasons beginning in 2001, leaving during the Apertura 2002 season to take over as manager of Mexico’s national team. Toluca went on to win the title that season, but La Volpe does not get official credit for the championship.
“El Bigotón” (big-moustached) is tasked with turning Toluca’s season around after the Diablos Rojos imploded midway through the Clausura 2019 season, getting blanked in four straight games and failing to score in three others. Toluca is in 14 th place, but only 4 points out of a playoff spot with 8 games remaining.
The new Toluca coach prefers an attacking style and he is known for developing youngsters, but he is taking over a veteran squad that spent heavily in the winter transfer window, acquiring three players over the age of 30 and a fourth who will turn 30 in 10 days.
La Volpe, 67, led Atlante to the Liga MX title in the 1992-93 season and has coached 15 other Mexican teams, three Argentine teams and one Egyptian team, as well as the Mexican and Costa Rican national teams since starting his coaching career in 1983. He was a member of the 1978 World Cup-winning Argentina team.