San Luis Expect to Capitalize on Their First Leg Win.

By: Mauro | September 17th, 2008

Sociedad Deportivo Quito vs. San Luis F.C. (Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador)

LIVE @ 3:30 pm PST on Fox Sports Español. Gamecast here. Online TV here.

While it’s tough to get an away win in South America, it’s even tougher to get an away win when you have to travel to Mexico to do it. San Luis showed how tough it can be for South American teams to win away, by putting Deportivo Quito to the sword a few weeks ago. On that occasion, San Luis was victorious with a nice 3-1 result.

But before you place that bet on the Mexican side, keep in mind that Deportivo won their last match in Ecuador and eliminated Peruvian side, Universitario de Deportes to earn their shot to be in the First Round.

While I missed the first leg of this match up, match reports said that San Luis dominated possession throughout most of the match and while Deportivo was relegated to playing the counter, they defended well and only came apart near the end after they had a man sent off (striker Walter Calderón). Also, the play of the match came when Braulio Luna took an incredible shot from outside the penalty area off of a corner kick for the go ahead goal. I’ve attached the video of the highlights, it’s worth the time.

A few weeks ago when the first leg was played, San Luis were riding high in their league and the win in the Sudamericana had their heads in the clouds. But tonight things are a little different. San Luis are coming off a disappointing 2-1 loss to América in their local league and are going to try to use this match to turn their fortunes around in Mexico.

On the other hand, all the pressure’s on Deportivo. While they might have a slight advantage with the altitude of Quito on their side, it doesn’t mean it’s a sure 2-0 win. They do, however, have a very important away goal which in the Sudamericana is worth double if it needs to come down to that.

A 2-0 win for Deportivo puts them through to the next round where they’ll face Argentine side, Argentinos Juniors who hasn’t played in an international cup for quite a number of years. My bet is that Argentinos will be hoping for an Ecuadorian win tonight since that would mean a much shorter flight to their away leg.

Bottom Line: Mexican sides have always been very competitive in the South American international cups and this San Luis side is no different. While Deportivo do have the home advantage and two goals at home is not impossible, they will be without Calderón. Although he’s not a starter, he was a nice alternative to have on the bench for occasions when Leider Preciado or Martín Mandra perform disappearing acts on the field.

My Pick: 2-1 to Deportivo. I do like the Ecuadorian side but I have trouble believing that they’ll manage to come up with the goal difference they’d need to advance while keeping their keeper’s sheet clean. With this result, San Luis will advance and Argentinos can start packing their bags for a long flight to Mexico.

Feel free to check the CONMEBOL website for results and information about upcoming matches and for those of you in need of a bracket to get your heads around the competition, get one here.