Late Goals Propel Cruz Azul To Victory

Cruz Azul broke a 1-1 draw late and beat Estudiantes 3-1 in Mexico City on Saturday.

Oct 18, 2009 12:17:28 AM

More On :  Cruz Azul, Tecos UAG
Javier Orozco- Cruz Azul (Mexsport)
Cruz Azul scored two goals in the last 10 minutes against Estudiantes and won 3-1 over the visitors at Estadio Azul on Saturday.

The victory moved Cruz Azul to 21 points as the club put pressure on Group 3 rival Santos to also pull out a win; Santos, on 21 points as well, play Chivas on Sunday.

Estudiantes, meanwhile, were reduced to 10 men in the second half and let the game slip away late. Estudiantes, surprise semifinalists in the Clausura 2009 season, are buried near the bottom of Group 3 with just 11 points.
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Still, Estudiantes shut out Cruz Azul for the first 45 minutes, a half that featured very little action.

While the shots did not fall for either side in the first half, Cruz Azul started off strong in the second half. It did take a little help from Estudiantes but Cruz Azul took advantage neverhteless.

Rogelio Chavez lined up a 30-yard rocket on goal. Estudiantes 'keeper Israel Villaseñor tried to parry the ball away but it went off his hands and into the back of the net.

Rodriguez tried to atone himself a few minutes later when Christian Riveros tried to beat him with a 20-yard blast but Villaseñor made a diving save.

Estudiantes went down to 10 men in the 73rd minute after a rough foul by Mauro Cejas on Riveros, but the visitors managed to pull level nonetheless. In the 77th minute, Rodrigo Ruiz lifted a free kick into the penalty area and Jorge Zamogilny crashed the net with most of the rest of his teammates. Zamogilny got his head to the ball and knocked it into the back of the net to give Estudiantes a 1-1 draw.


However, Cruz Azul did not stand pat. Jaime Lozano knocked a cross into the center of the field and Emmanuel Villa headed it forward inside the box. The ball fell to Javier Orozco, who ripped a shot on goal. Villaseñor made the intial save but the rebound fell to Orozco, who collected the ball and fired a low, hard shot into the back of the net for the eventual match winner.

Villa picked up an insurance goal in the third minute of stoppage time. Cesar Villaluz held the ball about 10 yards outside the penalty area and fed Villa, who was inexplicably left completely unmarked at the top of the box. Villa easily beat Villaseñor for his league-leading 11th goal of the season.

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For more coverage of the Mexican Apertura 2009 season, visit Goal.com's Mexican football section.

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