Tigres UANL earned a shot at their first international trophy Wednesday night, beating fellow Mexican side Santos Laguna 3-1 at Gillette Stadium to book a place in the final of SuperLiga 2009. Goals from Jesús Molina, Kikin Fonseca and Francisco Torres were enough to overcome a plucky Santos side that twice hit the post during the run of play.
Tigres will battle the Chicago Fire in the SuperLiga final on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at Toyota Park. The two teams first faced each other in the tournament's opening round on June 27 in Bridgeview, with Tigres winning 2-1.
Wednesday's second semifinal started at a blistering pace as Tigres UANL wasting no time getting on the board. The team pushed deep into Santos territory, earning a corner kick in the third minute. Lucas Lobos lined up for the kick and sent a good ball across the Santos 6-yard box to Jesús Molina. Molina leapt high over his defender to head the ball past a diving Oswaldo Sanchez and into the lower right corner of the net to put Tigres ahead 1-0.
Santos finally began to find its footing as the game passed the 10-minute mark. The Guerreros were buoyed by strong play on the right flank from Carlos Quintero. The best look came from Quintero himself in the 12th minute, when he drove a high ball over Tigres goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo that ricocheted off the right goalpost and out of play.
Any momentum that Santos Laguna had gained was quickly squelched in the 19th minute when Tigres midfielder Edgar Castillo passed a clever ball to Lucas Lobos on the left flank. Lobos beat his man and sent a curving cross into the box that José "Kikin" Fonseca volleyed out of the air past Sanchez to double Tigres' lead.
Santos fired back just seven minutes later. Left back Jorge Estrada broke free on the left and chipped a ball into Carlos Quintero at the Tigres penalty spot. Quintero made no mistake this time around, heading the ball into the top of the net to cut the deficit in half.
The teams battled evenly for most of the final 15 minutes of the half, each creating a few good chances. It was Tigres who came closest to finding the mark when Itamar Batista broke free inside the Santos penalty area in the 46th minute. The Brazilian striker dribbled around Oswaldo Sanchez and shot toward the open net, only to have his effort cleared away at the last moment by a sliding Jorge Barrera.
Santos Laguna emerged from the locker room with renewed energy for the second half. Led by the continuing creative energy of Carlos Quintero, the Guerreros pushed deep into Tigres' end and almost found an equalizer in the 56th minute.
Quintero outpaced his defender on the right flank and drilled a line drive that bounced off the chest of Tigres 'keeper Saucedo. Santos midfielder Walter Jiménez collected the rebound and blasted a shot that slammed into the right goalpost and out of play.
Tigres UANL regained some momentum as the half wore on, but made it difficult on themselves when midfielder Lucas Lobos was dismissed in the 70th minute for his second yellow card. They would have to protect their lead with just 10 men for the final 20 minutes.
The loss of Lobos seemed to have little effect, with Tigres adding to their lead in the 83rd minute when Edgar Castillo sprung Itamar Batista with a quick counterattack. Batista calmly beat his defender and slotted home through the legs of Sanchez to take his side ahead 3-1.
Santos finally found its second goal in the 91st minute when Jorge Estrada again sent a good cross in from the left flank, this time finding the head of substitute Francisco Torres. Torres headed past Saucedo into the lower right corner of the net to draw Santos within one, but time ran out on the Guerreros before they could find a third and Tigres earned a trip to the final.
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
