Nothing for anyone in the first chapter of the final of the silver division of Mexican soccer. Without doing more damage than a couple of expulsions, Cimarrones de Sonora and Atlético Morelia could not go beyond a goalless draw in the first leg of the Clausura 2022 of the Liga de Expansión MX, which will have to wait until the afternoon-night on Saturday to find out who is the new monarch of this category.
The confrontation had more emotions from the stands than inside the field, because very early it was announced that the tickets were totally sold out at the Héroe de Nacozari stadium, in Hermosillo, and that was the case: 16,732 Sonoran fans were present to see his team, the second largest entry in the Expansion League since the pandemic began, according to the Goles y Cifras website.
It should be remembered that Cimarrones de Sonora qualified for the Clausura 2022 postseason as eighth in the general table, while Atlético Morelia was fourth, which is why the first leg was held in the entity in the northwest of the country before a spectacular landscape of sunset and even an owl that was placed on the field in the second half.
Morelia came to this event with an even record in terms of their performances on the road, as they closed with three wins, three draws and three losses during their previous meetings in Clausura 2022, while Cimarrones were inspired by their performance at home in the postseason , as they beat Tapatío 1-0 in the reclassification, Alebrijes de Oaxaca 1-0 in the quarterfinals and Celaya 1-0 in the semifinals, but the gunpowder went out against the Michoacán squad.
The first half passed without many strong emotions, but already in the second half both teams came out willing to take the initiative and the lead on the scoreboard. However, the Cimarrones never managed to impose their local status, as their attacks were lukewarm and lacking in creativity.
Atlético Morelia took advantage of this error by adding unbalanced men on the wings such as Gael Acosta and Sergio Vergara, who caused the three clearest plays of the game on Gabino Espinoza’s goal, shots at the penalty spot that went wide of the frame but that left a feeling of strong danger for the visit, in addition to arousing the sighs of the fans.
Although Atlético Morelia showed their superiority in quantity and quality, they could not reflect it on the scoreboard and both teams were physically diluted until the last minutes, when nothing special happened in the frames. However, the emotion that seasoned the closing of the game were a couple of expulsions between minute 87 and 90+1, one for each team: Diego Pineda for the Michoacán squad and Josué Reyes for the Sonoran squad.
The referee replaced four minutes to compensate for the time lost due to expulsions and substitutions, but first Cimarrones de Sonora could not take advantage of having an extra man for about four minutes, without a single clear arrival in the opposite frame. Later, Morelia tried to attack when they were paired in terms of sending off, but there was no time for more.
The title of this unprecedented final will be known until Saturday, May 14, when the Morelos stadium, in Michoacán, will host the second leg and with a score still zero against zero. It should be noted that neither of the two teams has been monarch of the Expansion League since it was created in the Guardianes 2020 tournament (second semester of said year).
However, the Morelia plaza already knows what it means to be a champion with a Copa MX in 2013, a Supercopa 2014 and a Liga MX in 2000, all under the name of Monarcas Morelia, while Cimarrones de Sonora has never won a only title since its appearance in Liga de Ascenso MX in 2013.
