MEXICO CITY, Nov 23 - Santos Laguna and Pumas
UNAM won Mexican championship quarter-final first-leg ties amid
scenes of controversy on Thursday.
Santos won 2-0 at Morelia after the home side had two early
goals disallowed, while Pumas UNAM beat Toluca by the same
score at home, the second goal a hotly-disputed penalty.
Santos Laguna, who boasted the best record in the group
stages, took just 19 minutes to take the lead against Morelia
when Edgar Castillo latched onto Christian Benitez's pass and
chipped the ball over Moises Munoz.
Morelia had already put the ball in the net twice before
Castillo's strike but both efforts were disallowed for offside
and a foul respectively.
Santos doubled their lead in the 49th minute when Daniel
Luduena's free kick found its way under the defensive wall and
into the net.
Meanwhile, Toluca, who fininshed 10 points clear of Pumas
UNAM their qualifying group, now face an uphill struggle to
reach the semi-finals.
Former Argentina coach Jose Pekerman's team started well,
Carlos Maria Morales hitting the post in the 13th minute.
But Ignacio Scocco put Pumas ahead four minutes later and
then converted a controversial penalty, awarded for a handball
spotted by the linesman, in the 55th minute.
Atlante won 1-0 at Cruz Azul and San Luis held Guadalajara
to a 1-1 draw away from home in the other ties played on
Wednesday.
(Reporting by Carlos Calvo; Editing by Alastair Himmer)