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Jornada 4 Recap: Mighty Have Fallen
Stunners took place this weekend as heavy favorites fell. An unexpected Superlider was crowned and groups took a different shape. Winless and unbeaten teams still exist as a busy week in the Primera Division wraps up.
Aug 17, 2009 10:47:14 AM
Weekend Results:
Jaguares 0-1 Estudiantes Monterrey 1-0 Toluca
Chivas 2-0 Queretaro San Luis 3-0 Pachuca
Pumas 1-2 Tigres Puebla 1-0 Atlante
Morelia 5-0 Indios America 2-1 Atlas
Santos 3-2 Cruz Azul
The mighty have fallen
Perhaps the two unbeaten teams that we all though would carry the streak longer fell this weekend. Toluca would be the first victim as Monterrey beat them at home 1-0. Humberto “El Chupete” Suazo scored the only goal of the match. Toluca had won every single one of their matches before facing Monterrey on Saturday.
Pachuca was the second victim against San Luis who toppled Los Tuzos 3-0 on Saturday. Pachuca received the first goal early in the first half and could never really recover after that. Pachuca ended the game with nine men on the field. Pachuca like Toluca had won every single encounter before facing the mighty Gladiators on Saturday
Unbeaten teams left: Morelia, Puebla
Streak is over for America
Well we can all put our bets away to see how long America would go without winning at home. America went all of last season without a win at home until their last game. They won against Necaxa in their final game at home. That streak was the only thing that kept us interested in America. This season Las Aguilas have ramped up and it has shown. They got their first win at home on Sunday against a very though Atlas. This is the second game in a row that America has won which means a new more positive streak is the works. No worries though we can all try to guess when Pumas will finally win.
What happened to Pumas?
It’s amazing what an offseason can do to a team. Pumas were at the top of the world last season when they beat the odds and were crowned as the Clausura champions. Fast forward to now and the story is completely different. Pumas sit in the bottom of the rungs actually at the very bottom. The Felines are still winless this season, they are “drawless” if that is even a word, well it is now since pumas can’t even buy a tie. They have lost every single game this season. On the bright side though, Pumas were finally able to score. The goal came courtesy of the Cristiano Ronaldo of Mexico, Pablo Barrera. Barrera had a tremendous goal which almost made up for the other scoreless games Pumas have had.
Bravo for Chivas
Omar Bravo made his come back debut for Chivas on Saturday. Bravo came on in the 53rd minute after Javier Hernandez had practically secured the game. Not a bad debut for Bravo as Chivas won their first game of the Apertura against Gallos Blancos 2-0. Bravo did get in the action but it is obvious the player still needs a bit more conditioning before he can really bring something to the team.
Quotes of the week:
1. “The team has worked perfectly fine,” said Indios coach Hector Eugui. “ We are going from less to more. We played a good game against Monterrey and had a good outing against Santos. We couldn’t finalize our goal scoring plays, and we did not make goals, we also lacked cohesion.”
2. “We celebrated the championship a lot and maybe that’s why we came in a little more relaxed. But we need to correct that since the tournament is well under way. There is no excuse all teams come into the tournament the same but we have to show that we were champions,” explained Pumas’ Martin Bravo.
3. “ They are teams that are trying to find ways to make things work. Ramon Diaz did things his way but great teams don’t just spring up over night. They do have a great team and we have to respect that because of the quality of their players. If they are not playing well then that’s just something else,” said Ricardo La Volpe after Atlas’ loss to America.
4. “ Numbers are just numbers. You have to turn the page and try not to live off them or anything like that. Numbers only matter in contracts,” said Omar Bravo when asked about his scoring against Queretaro.
5. “It is very necessary to get positive streaks. It’s been a while since we’ve had one and hopefully this is the start of a positive streak for the team,” Guillermo Ochoa said after America’s win against Atlas.
Super 8s:
1. Morelia- No signs of slowing especially after an impressive display on Sunday
2. Toluca- Suffered a tough loss against Monterrey on Saturday but the Diablos shouldn’t have a problem bouncing back.
3.Pachuca- A 9 man Pachuca got demolished by an 11 man San Luis
4. Tigres- Really? Last season they were almost relegated
5. Santos- Just think once Vuoso starts scoring how good this team will be
6. Atlas- had a chance to steal the game from America but its obvious their finishing needs some practice.
7. Monterrey- Humberto Suazo came back and just at the right time as he gave his team the win over Toluca
8. America- Finally got first win at home this season
Team of the Week: Morelia
Morelia takes the honor this week and right fully so. Las Monarcas took over everything this week. Morelia leads all teams in scoring with ten goals this season, half of which came on Sundays game after they plucked the feathers from the Indios head to become Super chiefs or in this case Superliders. That’s right Morelia is the new Superlider after Toluca and Pachuca fell this weekend. Morelia also took over control of group 2 which is very important since the leader is only separated by four points to the team at the bottom.
Player of the week: Miguel Sabah
Miguel Sabah gets the player of the week pick simply because he’s been all over the place. Sabah gave Mexico the winning goal against the U.S. on Wednesday. Sabah came on as a substitute and got the job done for Javier Aguirre. Sabah suited up again on Sunday this time for Morelia. Sabah scored twice for Morelia who beat Indios 5-0.
Sylvestre Adame covers Mexican football for Goal.com
For more coverage of the Mexican Primera Division, visit Goal.com.
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