Soccer-Pumas sneak into Mexican title playoffs, face America

Reuters

By Carlos Calvo MEXICO CITY, Nov 23 (Reuters) - UNAM Pumas booked the last ticket to the Mexican Apertura championship playoffs with a 4-2 home win over Monterrey on Sunday. Pumas finished eighth in the 17-match league phase from which the top eight go through to the knockout rounds and will meet leaders and city rivals America in the quarter-finals. In the other ties, second-placed UANL Tigres meet Pachuca, who qualified in seventh place, third-placed Atlas face Monterrey and Chiapas are against Toluca. Two title holders, last season's Mexican champions Leon and Club World Cup-bound CONCACAF Champions League winners Cruz Azul, both failed to qualify. Pachuca secured their berth in the quarter-finals when a last-minute goal from Colombian Aviles Hurtado gave them a 1-0 home win over Veracruz on Saturday. "It was a difficult match, hard work, but the team kept their shape and calm and we managed to score," Pachuca's 41-year-old former Mexico goalkeeper Oscar Perez told Fox Sports. Another 41-year-old, former Mexico striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco, denied Santos Laguna their last chance for a place in the top eight when his last-minute penalty gave Puebla a 3-3 draw, leaving Santos stranded in ninth place. Brazilian Camilo Sanvezzo scored his 12th goal of the championship in Queretaro's 2-1 defeat by Chiapas to join Leon's Argentine striker Mauro Boselli as top scorer. Guadalajara won for the first time in nine matches going back to early September, 2-1 at bottom team Morelia to finish in 16th place hovering close to relegation danger. Relegation is decided on teams' average points over three full seasons so Guadalajara, joint record 11 times Mexican league champions with America, will need a good Clausura championship starting in January to ensure they avoid the drop. (Writing by Rex Gowar; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)