Last Minute Heroics Win It For Mexico

By César García

Once again, last minute heroics by Vicente Matías Vuoso gave El Tri an important morale boosting victory ahead of their crucial do-or-die World Cup qualification match next week against Honduras.  His goal in the 93rd minute sealed the deal for a 2-1 victory over Ecuador in a friendly match celebrated in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Match
Ecuador had the most dangerous chances of the first half.  In the 7th minute of the match, they opened the score off a perfectly executed free-kick which defender Isaac Mina headed in amidst the errors of the México defense. 

La Tricolor would go on to exploit the fragile México defense with two more dangerous headers that could have given them a comfortable lead heading into the break.

México coach, Sven-Göran Eriksson, flexed his tactical muscle with the introduction of three players in the second half which changed the face of El Tri.

One of the substitutes was midfielder Antonio Naelson ‘Sinha,’ whose presence on the field gave clarity to the midfield and generated much needed offensive options.

The first opportunity for El Tri came off an Israel ‘Jagger’ Martínez corner kick in the 50 minute mark, substitute defender Leobardo López beat the Ecuadorean defense to the front post and rose above them to head in the 1-1 parity. 

Once again, spot-kicks proved to be Mexico’s most reliable form of attack under Eriksson.

After the early second half goal, the intensity of the match fell and both squads created few scoring opportunities and little excitement..  

In the last ten minutes of the encounter, Ecuador enjoyed  a succession of dangerous opportunities on the México goal,  but goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa had positive interventions to preserve the stalemate.

It took time for the Mexico's substitutes to settle on the pitch. In the dying minutes of the match ‘Sinha’ reappeared and El Tri began to pressure the Ecuador goal defended by Máximo Banguera.

A few seconds past the three minutes of given aggregate time, the Ecuadorean defense committed the mistake of giving up a foul outside the box with a hard tackle on ‘Jagger’ Martínez. 

The result was a brilliant free-kick delivery by ‘Sinha,’ which Leobardo López re-centered from the back post to Vuoso, who for the first time in the night broke free from the tight personal marking of the Ecuadorean defense, and headed it in for the definitive 2-1 score. 

This goal once again proved the old adage that two headers in the penalty box means a goal.

Conclusions
The encounter had bursts of intensity and emotion, as both squads enjoyed equal control and dominance of the match.  

Ecuador demonstrated that they are an organized side with players of great physical presence and speed.  For their part, El Tri received an important energy injection from their substitutes, who managed to rescue the match after a lackluster first half.

The participation of Nery Castillo was typical of a player who has been inactive and without match fitness for more than six months.  Castillo appeared to regulate his participation in the match from what we have been accustomed to in his past matches, which are an indication that he is not ready for the full 90 minutes.  

However, when he became involved with his bursts of energy and quality, México was dangerous and benefited from the few blunders of the Ecuadoreans, who grew wary of Castillo and began to lose their defensive discipline. 

Whether or not Eriksson includes him in the list for Honduras will have to wait until Friday, but there is no doubt that his individual talents can make a difference at any given moment, especially in close encounters.

The man-of-the match was Ecuador midfielder Pedro Quiñonez, who gave great equilibrium and strength to the midfield, and demonstrated that he is a complete player with positive interventions at both ends which could earn him a call-up during La Tricolors qualification campaign.  Ecuador presented a competitive and respectable second-string team that will definitely continue to give fight in CONMEBOL qualification.

For México, this victory broke a four match winless streak for El Tri and it was the first victory on American soil in the Eriksson era. 

Along with the joy and morale boost of this victory, in the strategic aspects of the match the substitutions responded positively with full participation in the goals, and demonstrated that Eriksson’s scheme for El Tri is to maintain a consistent tactical order based on one-touch football and positional substitutions.

The friendly answered certain doubts for the managers regarding which players have made the cut and will be considered for their respective qualification campaigns.

Ecuador will have to wait until next March for their following qualifier, but that is less than a week away for México, who face a difficult test at Honduras for their ticket to the CONCACAF Hexagonal final round.

Lineups
México
Guillermo Ochoa, Oscar Rojas (Leobardo López 46), Diego Martínez, Edgar Dueñas, Fausto Pinto, Gerardo Torrado (Jaime Correa 67), Francisco Torres (Israel Martínez 46), Fernando Arce (Antonio Naelson 46), Francisco Fonseca (Edgar Castillo 58), Nery Castillo (César Villaluz 72) Vicente Matías Vuoso

Ecuador
Máximo Banguera, Enrique Gámez, Luis Checa, Isaac Mina (Narciso Mina 46), Jorge Guagua, Pedro Quiñonez, Fernando Hidalgo, Walter Ayovi (Jefferson Pinto 93), Fernando Saritama (Fabricio Guevara 90), Pablo Palacios (Joao Rojas 89), Luis Bolaños (Geovanny Nazareno 86)

Scoring
MEX: Leobardo López (50), Vicente Matías Vuoso (93)
ECU: Isaac Mina (8)

Referee
Alex Prus (USA)

--César García covers México for Goal.com.