Like dominoes, the Liga MX clubs have fallen on the Leagues Cup board. The last to do so this Friday at the Subaru Park stadium was Mazatlán FC, who lost on penalties 4-3 to the Philadelphia Union, after a 1-1 draw in regular time.
The Dane Mikael Uhre responded with the 1-0 to those who had given up on his team (45+3), after the expulsion of his teammate Tai Baribo. The goal took everyone by surprise, including coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich, who was preparing a much more offensive strategy by finding more space in the midfield. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the Cañoneros came out with that burden in the second half.
Philadelphia held on as best it could, competed and created danger in the second half, but without the necessary clarity to increase the score. This allowed its rival to go forward with all its players. In one of many attempts to the area, the winger Alonso Escoboza capitalized on a rebound to tie the game for Mazatlán FC (59), slipping past the marking of the American defenders. If it weren’t for the subsequent saves by the Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake, whose moves gave life to his team, the story could have been different in regular time.
Unable to take advantage of their extra man on the field, Vucetich and his team relied on the luck of the penalty shootout. Once there, goalkeeper Blake excelled: he saved shots from Josué Colmán and Eduardo Torres, and celebrated the winning shot from Jesús Bueno for 4-3.
With this, the Philadelphia team left behind another Mexican participant and confirmed the growth it has had in the region for at least a couple of World Cup editions.
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– 2024-08-18 03:05:46
