Mexican Primera Round-Up: Morelia Poker In Monterrey

By César García

Friday, 19 September, 2008 (home teams listed first)
Tecos - Pachuca (postponed)

Saturday, 20 September, 2008
Cruz Azul 1 - 1 Santos
Monterrey 0 - 4 Morelia
Chivas 1 - 0 Jaguares
Indios 2 - 4 Atlas
Necaxa 1 - 1 Toluca

Sunday, 21 September, 2008
Puebla 0 - 0 Tigres
Pumas 0 - 1 San Luis
América 1 - 2 Atlante

Tecos - Pachuca
The match was postponed due to inclement weather in Guadalajara, which left the field at the estadio Tres de Marzo in deplorable conditions.  It was rescheduled for November 5, 2008.

Cruz Azul 1 - 1 Santos
The rematch of the Clausura 2008 final left the best moments for the last five minutes.

Cruz Azul controlled most of the action against an unrecognizable Santos.  At the 90th minute mark, Ecuadorian forward Christian Benítez dribbled alone against four ‘cementero’ defenders and passed it back to a solitary Matías Vuoso who powered it pass debuting goalkeeper Alfonso Blanco for the 1-0 lead.

It appeared that Santos would escape with the narrow victory, but at the 93 minute Cruz Azul captain Gerardo Torrado delivered a magnificent shot from outside the box which curved into the bottom left corner of the goal for the 1-1 draw.

With this result, Santos reached 13 points and sits at the top of Group One, while Cruz Azul has 14 points and continues in the second spot of Group Two.

Monterrey 0 - 4 Morelia
Monarcas Morelia ended Monterrey’s three-game clean sheet, by scoring four goals and humiliating ‘rayados’ in front of their home crowd.

The player of the match was Chilean Hugo Droguett, who contributed with two brilliant goals in the 19 and 33 minutes, and assisted Brazilian teammate Wilson Thiago in the 40 minute.  The ‘goleada’ was finalized with an Ever Guzmán lob over Monterrey keeper Jonathan Orozco in the 69 minute.

Monterrey did not create any clear scoring opportunities and were completely dominated by the visiting Morelia, who earned their first away victory of the season.

As a result of the thrashing, Morelia move up in to the fourth spot of Group Two with 11 points, while Monterrey remain in the third spot of Group One with 12 points.

Chivas 1 - 0 Jaguares
In a less-than brilliant encounter, Chivas managed a narrow 1-0 home victory against visiting Jaguares.  The scoring was a result of a dubious penalty awarded in favor of the Guadalajara side, which captain Ramon Morales perfectly executed in the 52 minute.
Still, neither team showed a dominance and a draw would have been a just result.  

Despite an irregular form and lack of confidence from their faithful, this victory is pure oxygen for Chivas which will give them some tranquility.  Jaguares went into the match looking for a draw and did not propose enough in offense to earn the equalizer.

With this result, Jaguares stay in the penultimate position with 8 points, while Chivas have 10 points in Group Two and next weekend play Atlas in the ‘Clasico Tapatío.’

Indios 2 - 4 Atlas
The ‘rojinegros’ earned their second straight victory under new boss Darío Franco when they visited last place Indios.

The first half belonged to Indios and Ezequiel Maggiolo gave them the lead in the 14 minute, but a deflected shot by Christian Valdez in the 21 minute leveled the score for Atlas. Shortly after, Indios took take the lead on a penalty taken by Edwin Santibáñez.

Atlas came roaring for the second half and quickly got on the scoreboard with a brace by Paraguayan Ariel Bogado in the 47 and 54 minutes, giving him a league-leading
7 goals. In the 74 minute, Gonzalo Vargas sealed the match 4-2 for Atlas.

The Indios once again failed to take home-field advantage and are in the cellar of the overall table with 7 points.  Atlas head into the ‘Clasico Tapatio’ against Chivas with 11 points and are in the third spot of Group Three.

Necaxa 1 - 1 Toluca
The post for Necaxa coach Salvador Reyes is not secure after their 1-1 home draw against Toluca.

The ‘diablos’ displayed order and benefitted from more opportunities, but in the 41 minute Pablo Gabas scored a brilliant free kick giving Necaxa the lead.  Toluca’s efforts would be rewarded a minute later, when Héctor Mancilla tied the score before the break.

The ‘hidrorayos’ dominated most of the encounter and even scored on three occasions, but the referee controversially invalidated two of them.  This resulted in two post-game red cards for Necaxa defender Fernando López and boss Salvador Reyes.

Both squads are in Group Three and the draw leaves Necaxa in the fifth spot with 8 points and Toluca in third with 10 points.

Puebla 0 - 0 Tigres
A boring and scoreless draw between two managers known for their defensive tactics, Manuel Lapuente of Tigres and the debuting Mario Carrillo of Puebla.

The ‘camoteros’ demonstrated the most initiative to get on the scoreboard due to their desperate need for points, but in front of them was a defense-minded Tigres.  Still, neither team risked much at the offensive end, resulting in a poor 0-0 draw.

Tigres continue in the second spot of Group Three with 14 points. Mario Carrillo’s Puebla showed an improvement from past weeks and remain at 8 points near the bottom of Group One and overall classification.

Pumas 0 - 1 San Luis
In the battle for the top spot, San Luis took advantage of their experience, defense and the only goal opportunity to defeat Pumas and reclaim their Superlider position.

The match featured two very organized teams who did not relinquish many spaces, resulting in the few scoring opportunities.  On one of those chances, Uruguayan Víctor Píriz headed in the only goal in the 19 minute of the first half.

To make matters worse for Pumas, San Luis resorted to defend the remainder of the match to secure the three points and the overall leader position.

San Luis recovered from two straight defeats and returned to the top of overall classification with 19 points.  The Pumas remain in front of Group Two with 16 points.

América 1 - 2 Atlante
The ‘potros’ of Atlante continue to demonstrate an impressive form by handing América another home defeat and sending them further in crisis.

This was an intense and hard-fought encounter which was even in the first half.  Atlante took the lead in the second half by way of Colombian forward Luis Gabriel Rey, who defeated América goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 59 minute with a carefully placed shot.  ‘Aguila’ forward Rafael Márquez Lugo momentarily leveled the score with a header in the 72 minute.
 
In the 81 minute, a precise through-ball pass from Gabriel Pereyra led to Christian "Hobbit" Bermúdez evading Ochoa and giving the final 2-1 lead to Atlante.

This result is America’s fourth defeat and their horrible campaign continues at the bottom of Group Two with nine points.  Atlante has distanced themselves from the rest of Group One as they remain atop with 16 points.

César García covers Mexican soccer for Goal.com.