Tigres triumphed 2-0 over Necaxa on Saturday night at the Estadio Universitario, as two goals from Andre-Pierre Gignac propelled Miguel Herrera’s side to the Liguilla’s quarter finals.
The drama-filled match saw Tigres kick off stronger, dominating their underdog opponent in the final third. But their momentum quickly settled, after Javier Aquino drew a red card for a foul on Facundo Batista in the 20th minute. Though Necaxa held the advantage for the rest of the half, the team failed to capitalize on any offensive opportunities.
The second 45 saw the game even out, with Batista earning his own red card for a similar foul on Raymundo Fulgencio to leave both sides down to 10 on the pitch.
Once leveled, Tigres regained their edge. Gignac opened up the scoring in the 60th minute, exploiting a free-kick opportunity to find the upper right corner of the net. He then doubled the score 13 minutes later, heading in a cross by Fulgencio.
Head coach Miguel Herrera walked away content, commending the opponent before hailing his side for the tremendous efforts amid chaos.
“There are good teams. In the Liguilla , the eight that go through are good teams. We have four teams at the top that did things better, but this is a strong team, whoever faces us will have a hard time,” he said in the post match press conference.
“We have good players, today it was Andre ‘s turn to appear but there are others who appear, such as Cordova or Vigon . Today Raymundo understood the game very well. The rival that is coming is going to be difficult, but we are going to try to break the jetatura of staying in the semifinals. We have to win and reach the Final.”
Herrera went on to address Aquino’s mistake, adding the team prepares for all scenarios but should be way of giving away the adanvatage.
“We have trained him: we play games 11 against seven and we train that the spaces must be occupied to do damage. We must not go crazy, we must be calm, thinking about how to modify to do things well.”
Tigres will now face Pachuca in a two-legged quarterfinal series, kicking off on Wednesday.
Credit: 90min.com
