Tigres UANL 3
Brighton & Hove Albion 3
By Paul Alexander
Tigres UANL staged a stunning comeback against Brighton & Hove Albion as they came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at the Coleraine Showgrounds.
The opening 45 minutes of the encounter were relatively quiet. Brighton’s Darius Lane had the game’s first real chance when he hit the side netting after 7 minutes.
Tigres replied five minutes later when Brandon Raygoza’s deep corner-kick floated over the Seagulls’ defence but Jamie Obregon’s shot was saved.
Brighton took the lead in the 20th minute. Jesse Middleton slipped the ball in to Adam Brett inside the penalty area who applied the finish. Brett supplied Zebedee Lawson seconds later but his shot was blocked for a corner.
Raygoza threatened for Tigres with half an hour played. His free-kick from the right wing evaded everyone but bounced wide of the left post.
The Seagulls went 2-0 up shortly after the restart through the scrappiest goal of the afternoon. A free-kick from the right wing led to a mix up in the penalty area before the ball rebounded off Brett.
Lawson added Brighton’s third on 44 minutes. He won back possession on the right side of the penalty area and slotted the ball into the net with a low finish.
Tigres started and completed their unbelievable comeback in the last 20 minutes of the match.
Luis Mange made a start to the mammoth task in the 52nd with a well-taken shot on the turn low into the Brighton goal. Jonathan Noriega ensured a tence finish when he fired home his side’s second a minute later.
The Mexicans were turning up the heat on their opponents and went close on 66 minutes when what looked to be a cross from Diego Martinez ended up bouncing off the crossbar.
Martinez then found Gustavo Gonzalez seconds later but he couldn’t find that unthinkable equaliser.
But an equaliser did come in the final minutes of the contest. Mange delivered a perfectly-weighted diagonal cross from the right and this time Gustavo Gonzalez took his chance and made it 3-3.
There was still time for one more chance though. Jesus Salazar found Mange but the scoreline remained 3-3 after a highly entertaining afternoon of football.
Tigres UANL: Manzano (Sanchez, 36), C.C. Gonzalez (Davila, 36), Tamez, Moreno (Noriega, 36), Salazar, Beltran (Marin, 36), Ramos (Martinez, 36), L.A. Gonzlaez, Raygoza, Pech (Mange, 36), Obregon (G.W. Gonzalez, 36)
Subs not used: None
Brighton & Hove Albion: Rutter, Anah (King, 63), Ferdinand, Ademola, Outen, Cullinane, Middleton (Ibrahim, 63), Lane (Alaiku, 51), Silsby, Brett, Lawson (Phelan, 53)
Sub not used: Taylor, Gregory