Toluca (Mexico) (AFP) – Deportivo Toluca defeated fellow Mexican side Tigres UANL on penalties to lift the CONCACAF Champions Cup for a third time on Saturday. Toluca goalkeeper Luis Garcia was the hero, saving a decisive spot kick from Juanjo Purata to clinch a 6-5 shoot-out victory. The game had gone to penalties after the two Liga-MX clubs finished deadlocked at 1-1 following extra time.
The victory was Toluca’s first since their 2003 triumph in the tournament, the premier club competition for teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Garcia’s shoot-out heroics were a fitting reward for the Toluca goalkeeper, who had kept his team in the match during regulation and extra time with a series of stunning stops to deny Tigres. One double save by Garcia late in normal time – first from a header by Romulo and then a close-range follow-up from veteran French substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac – left the Tigres players shaking their heads in disbelief.
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Toluca, however, withstood the onslaught to strike first in extra time through substitute Jorge Diaz after 104 minutes. Diaz collected a pass from Fernando Arce, spun away from the Tigres defense, and rifled a low shot past former Argentina international goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman. It looked as if that goal would settle it, but Toluca’s home crowd at the Nemesio Diez Stadium were silenced in the 114th minute when Tigres equalized through Brazilian defender Joaquim’s towering header.
That led to the shoot-out, and again there were nerves for Toluca when Franco Romero saw his penalty to win the game saved by Guzman with the home side leading 4-3. Tigres leveled through Diego Lainez to make it 4-4 and set up sudden death, but it was Tigres who would blink first when Purata’s weak attempt was saved by Garcia.
© 2024 AFP
