Santos and Toluca have reached the final of the Mexican Clausura
tournament.
Oribe Peralta scored a hat-trick as Santos humiliated Morelia
7-1 on Saturday to complete a 10-4 aggregate semifinal win, while
10-man Toluca progressed with a 1-0 home win over Pachuca.
The two-legged final will be next week, with the first match
at Santos' stadium in Torreon in midweek and the return in Toluca
at the weekend.
Peralta, who was born and raised in Torreon, finished the
semifinal series with four goals, just one less than his regular
season total.
"We were able to maintain our lead, got a quick score and
were able to handle the series," Peralta said. "We weren't
expecting a win like this."
Fernando Arce opened the scoring against Morelia with a free
kick curled in from wide that was misjudged by goalkeeper Moises
Munoz in the second minute.
Luis Gabriel Rey equalized with a penalty two minutes later
after Hugo Droguett was fouled in the box but the scores were not
level for long.
Darwin Quintero raced clear to put Santos back in front in
the 13th minute and Peralta followed up to score after Arce's
strike hit the post in the 15th.
Jorge Estrada scored Santos' fourth in the 50th minute, with
Peralta adding No. 5 a minute later and completing the first treble
of his career in the 82nd.
Peralta was also involved in the seventh goal, drawing a foul
in the box to allow Matias Vuoso to score from the penalty spot in
the 83rd.
In the other semifinal, Antonio Rios volleyed the winning
goal low into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box
in the 42nd minute to give Toluca victory against Pachuca.
Toluca only needed a draw to reach the final after the first
leg ended 2-2, but held out for victory despite Osvaldo Gonzalez
being sent off in the 43rd minute.
The final between Toluca and Santos will be the second time
the clubs have faced each other for the title. The first meeting
was the summer tournament in 2000, when Toluca came out winners.
Santos, which was last champion in the Clausura 2008
tournament, is bidding for its fourth Mexican title.
Toluca, despite not being considered among Mexico's four
biggest clubs, has nine Mexican titles behind only America (10) and
Chivas (11).
Toluca last won the Mexican championship in the Apertura 2008
tournament.
