March 1, 2010 MEXICAN LEAGUE CLAUSURA Match Day 8 roundup
CRUZ AZUL 3, ATLAS 1
Cruz Azul more than doubled their season’s goal production with Saturday’s 3-1 win over Atlas at Estadio Azul.
La Maquina, who had scored only twice in their previous seven matches, ran away from Atlas early, with goals by Melvin Brown in the 4th and 18th minutes. Emanuel Villa made the score 3-0 in the 50th.
Andres Chitiva spoiled netminder Yosgart Gutierrez’s shutout bid in the 65th minute, but the final result was never in doubt – especially after the visitors were reduced to ten men with Dario Bottinelli’s 81st-minute ejection.
Cruz Azul improve to 3-2-3, good for third place in Group 3. Atlas, losers of two straight, are third in Group 1 at 4-0-4.
QUERETARO 1, SANTOS LAGUNA 1
Uriel Alvarez scored in the sixth minute of overtime to lift Santos Laguna into a 1-1 road draw with Queretaro at Saturday at Estadio La Corregidora.
Queretaro’s Julio Cesar Laffatigue corralled his own rebound and beat goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez to snap a scoreless tie in the 77th minute, then was sent off five minutes later, opening the door for the late Santos comeback.
Queretaro remain second in Group 1 at 4-2-2. Santos Laguna (4-3-1) top Group 3.
MONTERREY 1, ATLANTE 0
Group 2 leaders Monterrey (6-1-1) had their hands full with lowly Atlante (1-2-5), needing both a critical goal from Osvaldo Martinez and a critical call by referee Miguel Angel Flores to take a 1-0 win Saturday at Estadio Andres Quintana Roo.
Martinez scored in the 52nd minute. Atlante dropped back into their own end and relied on counterattacks for offense, a strategy that seemed to pay off in the 87th minute. But Johan Fano’s apparent equalizer was called back for offside, giving Monterrey the full three points.
CHIVAS 2, SAN LUIS 0
Chivas de Guadalajara continued their record-breaking romp through the Torneo Bicentenario on Saturday, blanking Group 1 rivals San Luis 2-0 at Estadio Jalisco.
Bofo Bautista (28th minute) and Hector Reynoso (88th) scored as the Goats extended their unprecedented season-opening winning streak to eight games. League scoring leader Javier Hernandez was a marked man, taken down twice in the penalty area by San Luis defenders, but missed the only penalty kick that was awarded. Goalkeeper Adrian Martinez’s block left a rebound that Reynoso swooped in to finish.
The loss dropped San Luis to 2-1-5.
PUMAS 3, PACHUCA 0
Pumas scored early and often on their way to a 3-0 thumping of Pachuca Saturday at Estadio Hidalgo.
All three UNAM goals came before the half-hour mark. Dante Rafael Lopez put the cats on the board with a header three minutes into the match. Martin Bravo doubled the lead in the 21st minute, and Pablo Edson Barrera completed the rout in the 24th.
Pachuca (4-1-3), who started the season strong but are winless in their last three games, mounted little in the way of an attack. Their best opportunity came early in the first half, when Damian Manso’s shot was blocked off the post.
Pumas are second in Group 3 at 3-4-1.
MORELIA 3, TIGRES 0
Morelia (5-1-2) found the cure for their recent slump on Saturday, pounding hapless Tigres 3-0 at Estadio Universitario.
The Monarcos, who had not scored in league play since February 13, made up for lost time with goals from Elias Hernandez in the 14th minute, Miguel Sabah in the 38th and Gabriel Ernesto Pereyra in the 71st.
The loss extended Tigres’ winless streak to seven games. They are fourth in Group 3 at 1-3-4.
PUEBLA 3, JAGUARES 3
The bottom two teams in Group 2, Puebla (2-2-4) and Jaguares (0-4-4), battled to a lively 3-3 draw Sunday at Estadio Cuauhtemoc.
Jaguares, one of only two teams in the Clausura without a single win at the season’s halfway point, led three times during the match only to surrender the equalizing goal. Danilo Veron opened the scoring in the 17th minute, and the lead lasted almost to halftime, before Fabian Gonzalez leveled the score in the 43rd with the first of his two goals. Hugo Sanchez restored Jaguares’ lead seconds into the second stanza, but Gonzalez once again countered, with a 57th-minute strike.
Puebla’s hopes for a win took a blow in the 69th minute, when Marco Antonio Capetillo drew a straight red card and was sent off. Jaguares took advantage of the man advantage to snatch a 3-2 lead on a goal by Jackson Martinez in the 83rd minute, However, Herculez Gomez came through in the clutch for Puebla, throwing the game into a 3-3 deadlock in the 87th.
Puebla are fifth in Group 2 at 2-2-4, four points ahead of Jaguares (0-4-4).
AMERICA 2, ESTUDIANTES 1
Daniel Marquez scored in the third minute of stoppage time to lift Club America past Estudiantes Tecos 2-1 Sunday at Estadio Jalisco.
Tecos got off to a solid start, with a ninth-minute goal by Diego Octavio Jimenez. Angel Reyna equalized for America in the 53rd, and Marquez’s goal completed the comeback.
America are fourth in Group 2 at 4-1-3, while Tecos are at the bottom of Group 3 at 1-2-5.
TOLUCA 3, INDIOS 0
Underperforming Toluca (2-4-2) picked up their second win of the season, 3-0 over Group 1 doormats Indios (0-3-5), Sunday in the friendly confines of Estadio Nemesio Diez.
Carlos Esquivel put the game away in the 15th minute. The insurance goals came from Hector Mancilla in the 77th minute and Vladimir Marin in the 84th.
The score might have been even more lopsided had Mancilla been able to convert the penalty kick he was awarded as the first half wound down.
Emil Martinez had the best chance to salvage some pride for Indios, but hit the post in the 66th minute.
