Late Goal Denies Pumas Home Win Against Atlas

Edgar Iván Pacheco's late goal denied Pumas of a home win and nudged them out of the playoff picture for the time being.

A possible bad omen for Pumas was the injury to their starting goalkeeper, Sergio Bernal, in the 41st minute, which required the subbing in of Alejandro Palacios. Bernal's status is unknown at this point.

Pumas manager Guillermo Vázquez was determined to grab the game's three points, however, and pushed forward by substituting Juan Francisco Palencia into the game in the 46th minute.

Juan Carlos Cacho put the felines ahead with a splendid header in the 55th minute, a product of Jehu Chiapas's fine pass.

Atlas suffered a tough injury of their own, this one to starting striker Alfredo Moreno, who left the pitch in the 33rd minute. The Zorros pressed forward for most of the match, outshooting the home team ten to five, but showing little clarity in front of goal.

Or at least it seemed that way.

Pacheco appeared just six minutes from the death and scored his first goal of the season, a goal worth another point in Atlas' pile in their race to avoid relegation.

The result pushed Pumas to ninth place in the league table with 19 points. If the playoffs started today, they'd be eliminated.

Posted in: Atlas,Edgar Iván Pacheco,UNAM Pumas