Pumas advance to the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup; they eliminate Vancouver Whitecaps

Pumas de la UNAM advanced to the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup by beating the Whitecaps 2-0 on their home turf, BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

It was the first match of the elimination phase, but the duel seemed to be played without much passion. It seemed more like a routine match than one where they were playing for permanence in the tournament. Pumas was motivated after eliminating Monterrey on penalties; while Vancouver kicked Xolos de Tijuana out of the competition. Two clubs that had to correct their course to reach this stage.

Until the Chino Huerta gave it a different tone. At minute 36, the player with the curly hair appeared, stole the ball, passed it to Piero Quispe who entered the area to return it to Huerta and he defined impeccably for the first of the university students.

With the advantage of the first half, Pumas were able to chat in the locker room during the break to fine-tune how to propose the return to the field in the second half. A new spirit was perceptible in the auriazul team.

Again Chino Huerta was the pivot of the university attack. From the right, he entered the area and dragged the defenders with him on the edge. As soon as they took the bait, he assisted Rubén Duarte with a backheel, who put the cross to Jorge Ruvalcaba to score the second goal for the felines.

The Whitecaps came close to closing the gap in the 77th minute when the Canadians’ attack culminated with a strong shot from Ryan Raposo, but Julio Gonzalez was able to control it. Fortunately for the university goalkeeper, he was firm and alert when the projectile landed directly in his hands.

In the final minutes, Vancouver tried to make up for lost time in vain.