May 13, 2010
MEXICAN LEAGUE CLAUSURA
Liguilla semifinals – first leg roundup

PACHUCA 2, TOLUCA 2
It all comes down to Saturday for Pachuca and Toluca, who battled to a 2-2 draw in Wednesday’s Liguilla semifinal series opener at Estadio Hidalgo.

Refuse-to-lose Pachuca came back twice to leave the match deadlocked. Damian Manso’s 60th-minute tally countered Diego Novaretti’s header that put Toluca up 1-0 in the first minute of the second half. Dario Cvitanich saved the day for the Tuzos in the 85th minute, four minutes after Hector Mancilla had restored Toluca’s lead with a set piece header. Antonio Naelson collected his second assist of the game of the day.

Toluca retains a slight advantage in the series, needing only a draw on their home turf on Saturday to advance to the finals.


MORELIA 3, SANTOS LAGUNA 3
Morelia gave their home fans a rollercoaster ride on Wednesday, falling behind three times before rallying to a 3-3 draw in their semifinal first leg match against Santos Laguna at Estadio Morelos.

The visitors struck quickly, taking a 1-0 lead on Oribe Peralta’s goal in the sixth minute. Jared Borgetti tied the score in the 34th, and the 1-1 deadlock held through halftime.

Juan Pablo Rodriguez jump-started a wild second half when Santos was awarded a penalty kick in the 56th minute. Elias Hernandez countered for Monarcos seven minutes later, only to see Jorge Estrada restore Santos to the lead in the 65th. Morelia got a break in the 86th minute, when Luis Gabriel Rey converted from the penalty spot to know the score.

Santos Laguna hosts the series second leg Saturday at Estadio TSM Corona, and can advance to the finals with a draw or better.