MEXICO CITY (AP) — Throughout his short coaching career, Rafael Puente has experienced several moments of crisis. Today he has one more, now with Pumas.
Puente and the rest of the college squad were booed on Sunday after losing 4-2 at home to a Puebla side that earned their first win at the Olympic Stadium since the 2017 Clausura.
Ángel Robles, a 21-year-old striker who made his Apertura 2021 debut, netted the first brace of his career to guide Puebla to victory. He scored at 33 and 84 minutes.
“Since the start of the ‘Lalo’ project (Eduardo Arce, the coach), he had spoken to us about him, we knew that we had to be patient with him and today he showed his gratitude for that trust”, said said Arce’s assistant, Matías Córdoba. , on the oaks.
Colombian Omar Fernández at 30 and Argentinian Federico Mancuello at 89 also scored for Puebla, which ended a three-game losing streak.
Puebla ended up with 10 points and trails in 13th position, one shy of the last playoff ticket.
Argentines Gustavo del Prete and Eduardo Salvio scored in the 11th and 68th minutes respectively for Pumas, who played one man short from the 19th minute when Héctor Ramírez was sent off for a foul in midfield.
Puente was fired due to poor results in short spells with Lobos BUAP, Querétaro and Atlas, but management opted for him in an attempt to lead the team to a denied league title since the 2011 Clausura tournament.
“I thank the fans for demanding us like this. The team demands because of its great history and they want you to fight and be the protagonist of the tournament and we have been obliged, “admitted Puente during a conference Press.
With the result, the university students lost for the fourth time in their last five games. They add 11 points which help them sit in 11th position, in the play-off zone for the league.
“In the benevolent system of competitions in which we are at the moment, we have life, we are in playoff position and there are games to turn things around,” added Puente.
Pumas, one of the four most popular teams in Mexico, comes from a tournament in which they were eliminated in the regular phase. Argentina coach Andrés Lillini was fired and Puente took over, although he is now in shock.
“What I can say is give up and give up or throw in the towel, those words are unlikely to be in my vocabulary,” Puente concluded.