InterLiga: Pachuca Is First Finalist

Group A
Matchday 3:  Monday, January 5
Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas
Tecos 1 - 0 Monarcas Morelia
Toluca 0 - 1 Pachuca

Tecos 1 - 0 Monarcas Morelia
In an extremely even encounter, Tecos earned a valuable victory against Monarcas Morelia to continue with life in the InterLiga.

After a scandalous 4-0 defeat in the opening matchday of the tournament, Tecos were at the bottom Group A and their aspirations to advance appeared dire.

However, the lone goal scored by former New York Red Bull defender, Diego Jiménez, in the 70th minute, handed Tecos the victory and moved them to the second spot of the group with three points.

For their part, Morelia has complicated their qualification.  They continue tied with Toluca at one point apiece and occupy the last spot of their sector.

Tecos have the slight advantage when they play Toluca in the final matchday of Group A on Thursday, while Morelia play their last cards against already qualified Pachuca.

Toluca 0 - 1 Pachuca
The Tuzos once again demonstrated their great form and that their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup was not in vain, with their second InterLiga victory guaranteeing them a spot in the Final phase.

Pachuca controlled the majority of the actions and did not lose patience in their attempts to break the defensive order of a young Toluca side.  

Both sides had their share of clear scoring opportunities in the first half, but Pachuca manager Enrique Meza moved his pieces correctly for the second half and it paid off.

Midfielder Christian Giménez and Paraguayan forward Edgar Benítez received the nod and Pachuca immediately became more offensive, took full possession of the ball and constantly generated attacking plays.

 In the 59th minute, new Pachuca recruit Benítez demonstrated his skills with a brilliant individual play inside the Toluca penalty area, which he followed with a solid shot for the definitive 1-0 score.

With this result, Pachuca becomes the first team qualified to the Final phase of the InterLiga 2009 with 6 points and the overall leadership of Group A.

In turn, Toluca will hold on to slim hopes of advancing in the third spot of the group with only one point.

The decisive Group A fixtures will be played on Thursday, with Tecos, Morelia, and Toluca vying for the second qualifying spot of the sector.  

--César García, Goal.com