12-05-2025
Necaxa and Tigres battle to a scoreless draw in first leg of Quarterfinal series.
Necaxa and Tigres underwhelmed their fans as they opened their Quarterfinal series with a 0-0 tie. Necaxa had been overly superior in the 1st half but Tigres even the match in the 2nd and the scoreless result wasn't overly surprising as both teams failed to excite their fans. Tigres has the advantage as another tie in the 2nd leg would give them the ticket to the Semifinal when they face each other in Monterrey on Sunday.
The first half started with both teams coming out with the best possible starting 11. It was physical from the start and the referee had to stop play after a foul starting a mini scuffle. A bad clearance went straight to Agustin Palavecino but his header went wide. Palavecino got off a left footed shot from outside the area was saved by Tigres' goalkeeper, Nahuel Guzman, made a great save. A cross into the area from Kevin Rosero was just of reach of two Necaxa's attackers but the home side was dominating possession. Pavel Perez would get off a right footed shot that forced Guzman to make a save but the rebound fell to Diber Cambindo, whosen shot also Guzman saved. The ball would then fall again to Perez but his right footed shot went wide. A cross into the area was headed by Alexis Peña but Guzman would make another save. The halftime whistle blew and although Necaxa had been clearly the better team, the match remained scoreless.
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The 2nd half started with Tigres subbing out Sebastian Cordova and Juan Pablo Vigon for Ozziel Herrera and Romulo Zwarg. A shot from outside the area from Palavecino went wide. Palavecino got off a left footed shot that was well saved by Guzman. A shot from Nicolas Ibañez was cleared off the line by Alejandro Mayorga. A cross into the area found a wide open Diego Lainez but he got off a terrible header that went wide. Perez got off a left footed shot that force Guzman to make a save. Off a counter, Herrera got off a right footed shot that Necaxa's goalkeeper, Ezequiel Unsain to make a good save. Tigres subbed out an injured Nicolas Ibañez for Marcelo Flores. Necaxa subbed out Diber Cambindo for Ricardo Monreal. A controversial play happened when Lainez got into the area and looked to have been brought down but nothing was given. A left footed shot from Lainez forced a great save from Unsain. Tigres subbed out Juan Brunetta for Raymundo Fulgencio. Necaxa subbed out Pavel Perez and Johan Rojas for Diego de Buen and Arturo Palma. While Necaxa tried for that goal, Tigres had done a good job of slowing down play and the home side looked out of offensive ideas. Necaxa subbed out Jose Rodriguez for Tomas Badaloni. A cross into the area was headed wide by Rosero. After a foul there was a scuffle between Emilio Lara and Zwarg and it ended with a Yellow card for Zwarg. Another controversial play happened when a left footed shot looked to have been possibly handled by Herrera but nothing was given. Another shot from Lainez went wide. The match ended and Tigres took an important result while Necaxa wasted a great opportunity.
A scoreless tie was a disappointing start to this Quarterfinal series. No question it is Tigres who benefit the most from the score as they get to return home with the advantage that a win or a tie get them thru to the Semifinals. Necaxa let got of a great opportunity as they had been the better side in the first half and now they need to go and get an away win against Tigres, who although they haven't played well, they have been solid defensively. Hopefully both teams pick it up on offense as right now, it has been the most disappointing Liguilla series so far.
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