Late goal earns Pumas a tie against Necaxa

Pumas battled back to get a 1-1 tie against Necaxa as they continue to fail to get a victory at home in the Apertura 2026. In a match that had a dreadful first half but a lot better second half, Pumas was able to bounce back after trailing 1-0 but failed to get the goal that would have earned them the three points. Pumas will now travel north to face off against Tijuana in a setting where they have had a lot of trouble in the past while Necaxa will have another away match, this time against Tigres.

The 1st half started under a rainy Sunday night. From outside the area, Owen Gonzalez got off a right footed shot that went well wide. Off a corner kick, the cross into the area was headed by Julian Carranza bur it went straight to Pumas’ goalkeeper, Keylor Navas. Off a counter, Uriel Antuna got off a right footed shot that went wide. From outside the area, Daniel Leyva got off a right footed shot that went just wide. A cross into the area was whiffed by Juninho when he tried to get off a bicycle kick. A cross into the area was headed wide by Ruben Duarte in a bad miss. The rain was severely hampering both teams and the level of play was incredibly poor with both sides making a number of mistakes. From outside the area, Pedro Vite got off a left footed shot that went well wide. The referee blew the whistle and ended a dreadful first half with the match still scoreless.

The 2nd half started with Pumas subbing out Pedro Vite and Juninho for Israel Luna and Luciano Herrera. Off a corner kick, the cross would eventually fall to Carranza, who got off a close range shot that forced a brilliant save from Navas. A low cross into the area would find Loreno Faravelli, whose right footed shot forced another save by Navas. A good cross into the area would be headed from close range by Herrera but Necaxa’s goalkeeper, Luis Jimenez made a good save. A ball in the area that wasn’t cleared would eventually fall to Owen Gonzalez, whose shot went well wide. Necaxa subbed out Owen Gonzalez and Carlos Vargas for Emilio Rodriguez and Mauro Zaleta. Pumas subbed out Adalberto Carrasquilla for Alan Medina. From outside the area, Robert Morales got off a good right footed that forced a great save from Jimenez. A left footed shot from Luna would be deflected into the hands of Jimenez. Necaxa subbed out Matias Espindola for Juan Torres. Pumas subbed out Cristian Calderon for Pablo Bennevendo. A cross into the area was cleared into the path of Carranza, whose shot was blocked by Pumas’ defense. The ball fell to Leyva, whose right footed shot was saved by Navas. In the ensuing corner kick, Zaleta would get past a defender and get off a cross that Julian Carranza would head from close range past Navas to score and give Necaxa the 1-0 lead. It was a deserved goal for Necaxa, who had been the better team so far. Pumas subbed out Victor Arteaga for Guillermo Martinez. Necaxa subbed out Lorenzo Faravelli for Pedro Pedraza. Luna got the ball in the area but his right footed shot was blocked by Jimenez. The ball would eventually be crossed into the area where Martinez would head the ball back towards Luciano Herrera, who would get off a left footed volley from close range that would go past Jimenez to score and tie the match at 1-1. Pumas had a couple of minutes to try to get their first home game win of the season. Another cross into the area would be headed to Morales but his close range header was saved by Jimenez. Antuna got the ball in the area but his left footed shot went well wide. In the end Pumas’ final push wasn’t enough and the game ended in a tie.

Pumas’ disappointing level of play continued with another tie at home. Since their disastrous performance in the Leagues Cup, Pumas wasted two home matches where they failed to get a win, only getting two ties with a level of play that was mediocre. Against Queretaro, it was a evenly played match that had few emotions from both teams. Against Necaxa, it was a match in which the away side was the slightly better team overall. Pumas will now have to go on the road, which might be better news as they have won the two matches played away so far in the Apertura 2026. That being said, they will have a tough time as they go to a venue in Tijuana, where they have struggled mightily. They will play a Xolos team that might have lost by a 5-2 score on Saturday but came into that match in second place and have had some good results at home, like their defeat of Cruz Azul in their last match in Tijuana. Necaxa will travel north and have another road match against a Tigres side that has struggled in the Apertura 2026.