The win gave Santos 10 points, one behind Group 6 winner Cúcuta. It eliminated Mexico’s Chivas, which finished with nine points after a 3-0 victory over last-placed San Jose of Bolivia.With Chivas’ victory in Bolivia, Santos had to win to qualify — and the victory seemed unlikely until the closing minutes.On Cúcuta’s first threat, striker Leandro Vargas raced past Marcinho Guerreiro and drew a foul. Cúcuta midfielder Lin Carlos Henry sent a perfect left-footer curling into the upper right corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead after 23 minutes.In the second half, Cucuta midfielder Elvis Rivas broke through the defense, dribbled past Santos goalkeeper Fabio Costa and fired on the open net, but defender Fabao cleared the ball off his line. Then striker Matias Urbano nearly scored, dribbling past defender Domingos and forcing Costa to make an acrobatic save.Santos’ comeback began in the 68th when striker Weslei drove to the left baseline and found Kleber Pereira in the goal area. The striker whirled and fired just under the crossbar.A shoving match stalled the game, Henry and Santos defender Domingos were red-carded and Santos coach Emerson Leao was expelled.When play resumed, Kleber Pereira sent an arching shot from the left side that just eluded Cúcuta ‘keeper Leandro Castellanos and caromed off the crossbar to Tripodi, who fired in the game-winner in the 88th.
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