Jornada 6 Recap: Goals Galore

Jornada Results:

Atlante 2-0 Jaguares
Estudiantes 3-4 Monterrey
Pachuca 0-1 Chivas
Cruz Azul 1-0 Morelia
Puebla 1-0 San Luis
Gallos Blancos 3-2 Pumas
Atlas 7-1 Indios
Toluca 3-1 America
Tigres 1-2 Santos

Luxury Of Being Bad

Indios have been at the bottom of the table for a long time now but on Wednesday they were dealt a blow that should d be dealt more often.

“Were ashamed, we can’t lose like this. We need to be conscience of what were playing for. Nobody likes to lose 7-1 and it’s a shame because we are not backing up Pepe who is the type of manager that lets us have a lot of liberties. Now we have to show our faces because it’s the players fault and not the manager's,” Said Adrian Garcia after Indios’ 7-1 defeat against Atlas.

As if not wining in 23 games wasn’t bad enough Indios had something more to give and that was seven goals to Atlas. But even more amazing was the statement made by Adrian Garcia. He mentions that they were embarrassed after their loss to Indios but the question is: shouldn’t they always be embarrassed?

The answer is they should be embarrassed but the team has the luxury to not be.

Thanks to the city that Indios is located in the players are able to walk around and about. If Indios were located in Mexico DF or if they’re name were America things wouldn’t be as pleasant for the club. They would be in the center of Mexico and under constant scrutiny from fans and the media. They would probably have to order in and leave their homes wearing a disguise.

Fortunately for Indios they are located in Ciudad Juarez where soccer is not the top sport and where the local baseball team would get it from everyone if they were to go winless for 23 games. Indios have it made in Ciudad Juarez, they don’t need to win and these types of losses are bearable for this sort of team. Unfortunately for the club they only have 11 more Jornadas in the top flight and then they’re done.

Fine Without Chicharito

Chivas faced a very difficult test against Pachuca this Wednesday. First of all Pachuca seemed to have great momentum and Chivas went in without the leagues top scorer. Pachuca failed to win despite the great advantage they were given.

Listening to some comments that were made a lot of people were declaring that Chivas were deep and do not need Javier Hernandez, however; they couldn’t be more wrong.

Javier Hernandez is the soul of this Chivas team and with out him they would not be in this position.  El Chicharito has scored more than half of Chivas’ goals and with out those crucial goals Chivas wouldn’t be sitting as high as they are.

Many would argue that Pachuca is one of the toughest teams and that is true. Pachuca was also missing a key piece of their team in Dario Cvitanich. They had greater ball possession but didn’t have enough to put the ball in the back of the net. It took a brilliant long distance shot from Xavier Baez to win the game.

One game can’t prove anything but several can as we’ve seen in America’s case with Salvador Cabañas. But what is clear is that like America Chivas don’t have another true striker other than Hernandez. Sure they have Omar Bravo but he could do nothing with his chances. Nobody on that Chivas roster can finish like Hernandez or even put’s in the effort that Chicharito does.

Chivas will most likely experience many games without Hernandez as he has practically cemented his spot in the Mexican national team. This will let us see how deep Chivas really is and how far they could get with out their striker.

Back On Track?

The Bicentenario hasn’t been kind to some of the teams that aspired to be Liguilla contenders at the start of the season. Four of those teams needed a win in this Jornada and they all got them. Atlante, Cruz Azul, Puebla, and Toluca have all had a rough start but this could be the turning point.

Atlante looked promising at the beginning thanks in part to their good showing in the Club World Cup. With that competition out of the way it looked like Atlante would shift all their attention back to the Mexican tournament but that really hasn’t been the case. Atlante got their first win on Wednesday and it couldn’t have come any sooner for José Guadalupe Cruz, who was surely going to be sacked if they had failed to win. Atlante is a lost cause though the chances of them getting back into it and fighting for a Liguilla spot do not look realistic. They are within striking distance in group 3 and could takeover the second spot in the group with a win over the weekend and losses to group rivals.

Since rejoining the Mexican top flight, Puebla has been a sure contender for the Liguilla. Things have complicated this year though.  Last season Puebla was unbeaten to start off and did not taste defeat until the 10th Jornada. Puebla don’t look that bad on offense they did lose Jared Borgetti but got Herculez Gomez who seems to be fitting in nicely. They don’t have Sergio “Cherokee” Perez in the back and that as probably hurt them more. It will be extremely hard for Puebla to make it into the Liguilla. They are stuck in group 2 which has very heavy hitters at the top. Carlos Ruiz needs to pick up in form but they need to start preparing for next season because it’s not going to happen this time.

It’s hard to believe that Toluca would get their first win in the 6th Jornada but that’s reality for you. Jose Manuel De La Torre needed this one because it was likely he was going to be sacked had Toluca lost to America. Toluca matched the three goals they had in the tournament with a three goal performance against Las Aguilas. This Toluca team got a bit of revenge after the 7 goal beating they took last year. Toluca looked like the old team we are used to on Wednesday. There are key players that need to keep the rhythm up in order for Toluca to be successful l. Antonio Naelson “Zinha”, Carlos Esquivel, and Hector Mancilla all drive Toluca and with these three in top form Toluca becomes unstoppable.  Toluca faces a tough task to get atop of group 1. Chivas won’t be dethroned so they need bad results for a good Queretaro team and a great Atlas squad.

Cruz Azul looked like the strongest team in Mexico during the offseason. They increased their fire power by adding Christian Gimenez but everything has worked out inversely for the Maquina. Cruz Azul has only scored two times this season. They had the leagues leading scorer last season who hasn’t scored this season. Christian Gimenez is yet to open his account for his new club. This team has the players to do some serious damage but something is missing and once they find that something or someone then this club will rise up again. Cruz Azul are in the weakest group and the Liguilla certainly looks to be in reach, they will not knock down Santos but they could get the second spot.

Who's Hot, Who’s Not

Hot

1. Atlas- Take a look everyone, that’s how you destroy the worst team in the league.

2. Miguel Zepeda- like a great wine, get’s better with age

3. Chivas- Makes history despite the absence of Chicharito

4. Jornada 6- Great games on Wednesday, sure beats watching the “Novelas”.

5. Toluca- First win in Bicentenario, better late than never

Not

1. Indios- Now every team will go for seven or more

2. Ramon Morales - Out of Chivas and everything changes

3. Jesus Ramirez - start packing your bags

4. Emanuel Villa - One hit wonder

5. Tigres - lucky that Indios are in the top flight

Best XI:

GK: Jorge Villalpando (Puebla)

DEF: Alvaro Ortiz (Puebla), Melvin Brown (Cruz Azul), Aaron Galindo (Chivas), Manuel de la Torre (Toluca)

MID: Miguel Zepeda (Atlas), Xavier Baez (Chivas), Antonio Naelson (Toluca), Daniel Ludueña (Santos)

FWD: Aldo de Nigris (Monterrey), Gonzalo Vargas (Atlas)

Best Game: Estudiantes vs. Monterrey

Every game this Jornada had something to it and the best ones looked to be the high scoring ones. The Atlas vs. Indios game had 8 goals but it was all one sided. Estudiantes vs. Monterrey had more drama as Monterrey always tried to pull ahead and Estudiantes were keeping right there with them. Estudiantes had a 2-1 advantage at one point but Monterrey scored three goals in twelve minutes which proved to be too much for Estudiantes.

Team of the Jornada: Chivas

Chivas made history in the Mexican league by wining their sixth straight since the start of the season. the team went on the defensive mode without Chicharito. Omar Bravo had good looks but could not convert but a great strike fro Xavier Baez secured the win and his teams historic run.

Player of the Jornada: Miguel Zepeda

They say you’re only as old as you feel and right now Miguel Zepeda is in his 20’s. The Atlas midfielder scored three goals and assisted on two others in his teams 7-1 victory over Indios.  Zepeda is having an incredible season with two hat tricks and he is one goal away from catching Javier Hernandez in the goal-scoring column.

Sylvestre Adame covers Mexican football for Goal.com.

For more coverage of the Mexican Primera Division, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.