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Mexican Torneo Apertura 2005: Matchweek 6 Wrap [Fri Sep 2nd, 2005]
Defending champions America continue to dominate the Mexican league, extending their undefeated streak to 23 league games. Cruz Azul humiliated city rivals Pumas UNAM, at their own stadium, and now trail America by only one point. Meanwhile, Azcargota's debut with Chivas was ruined by Matias Vuoso.
Toluca 1-1 Pachuca
Juan Carlos Cacho’s goal in the 67th minute helped Pachuca earn a valuable away draw against group rivals Toluca. The side coached by Americo “Tolo†Gallego were unable to take advantage after Pachuca went down a player, when Sergio Santana was ejected in the 42nd minute.
The match played at the Devils' Cauldron, ironically under a torrential downpour, saw the home side take the lead with a Vicente Sanchez goal in the 48th minute. Despite being up a man and controlling the pace of the match, Toluca were unable to subdue Pachuca.
In the 67th minute, Juan Carlos Cacho seized hold of a loose ball, product of a free kick from team-mate Eduardo Rergis, which Toluca keeper Hernan Cristante failed to contain, and scored the equaliser. Despite the draw, Toluca remain in command of group two with eleven points.
Jaguares 1-2 Monterrey
Guillermo Franco put forth a brilliant performance at Victor Manuel Reyna stadium to guide Monterrey to victory. Franco opened the score sheet in the 33rd minute after finishing off a give and go between Luis Perez and Ervitti whose shot hit the post and landed in Franco’s direction.
A few minutes later, Jaguares defender Gabriel Palmeros would get sent off for fouling Franco - the Argentine striker had broken through the offside before being brought down by Palmeros.
In a quick counter-attack, Jaguares managed to level the score. However, Guillermo Franco would appear once again and score the winning goal. Franco’s double salvo also paved the way for Monterrey’s first win of the season.
Jaguares, who have yet to win a match this season, confirmed head coach Fernando Quirarte will remain at the helm.
Atlante 4-5 Veracruz
The Red sharks of Veracruz played their best match of the season to defeat Atlante in what turned out to be a nine-goal thriller.
The Potros, as Atlante are known, took an early lead thanks to Sebastian Gonzalez goal in the 3rd minute. But Atlante's domination of the match would only last twenty minutes, at which point Leandro Romagnoli opened the flood gates.
A silky pass from the Argentine midfielder helped team-mate Francisco Bravo equalise in the 25th minute. A few minutes later Veracruz took the lead with a goal from Miguel Acosta, who tallied his second goal of the game in the closing minutes of the first half, to send Veracruz to half time with a 3-1 lead.
The second half would get off to a quick start, as Horacio Cervantes and Sebastian Gonzales would get on the scoresheet to put Atlante back in the fight.
In the 68th minute, Emilio Mora had Veracruz on top (4-3), but Chilean striker Patricio Galaz leveled the match in the 78th minute. The Red Sharks still had some bite in them and would prove to be fatal. Just as the match was winding down to a draw, Veracruz striker Gustavo Biscayzacu silenced the Atlante faithful with the matchwinner in the 92nd minute.
Dorados 1-1 Necaxa
Necaxa managed to scrape a one goal draw from Dorados of Sinaloa at Carlos Gonzalez y Gonzalez stadium. The relegation-bound Dorados had the match in the bag, but were unable to finish off their opportunities.
Uruguayan striker Sebastian Abreu had Sinaloa in the lead by the 17th minute with a well-placed penalty. However, Necaxa leveled the match in the 38th minute.
Dorados' bad start of the season, which has them at the bottom of group two, led to head Coach Carlos Bracamonte's decision to step down. Taking over the reigns at Sinaloa will be Spanish coach Juan Manuel Lillo Diez.
Tigres 1-0 San Luis
A lone goal from Argentine Midfielder Walter Gaitan was enough for Tigres UNAL to defeat San Luis at home at Universitario Stadium. Gaitan, with a brilliant display of technique, scored the matchwinner in the 66th minute.
Teammate Nestor Silvera wasted Tigres' opportunity to double the lead in the 76th minute by missing his spot-kick. The victory leaves Tigres in second place in group three with ten points, level with arch-rivals Monterrey. League newcomers San Luis remain in fifth place in Group One.
Atlas 1-3 America
Defending champions Club America continued their undefeated run with a 3-1 victory over Atlas.
America, who have been dominating the league since the start of the season, had no problems disposing of Atlas, who are currently experiencing relegation problems.
Brazilian striker Kleber Boas opened the scoring sheet in the 20th minute. Team-mate Reinaldo Navia, returning from a season-long injury, bagged a brace to double America’s lead and seal the win.
Weary of Atlas' dismal performance was striker Daniel Osorno, who commented on teams performance on the field. “We (players) are the only ones responsible for the defeat, Daniel Guzman takes the least blame, we have to redouble our efforts and hope that luck accompany us in our next gamesâ€.
Pumas 0-5 Cruz Azul
Pumas UNAM, led by the enigmatic Hugo Sanchez, were handed their worst loss of the season, a humiliating 5-0 defeat against city rivals Cruz Azul.
UNAM, who have been having an irregular season, were picked apart by the ‘Blue Machine’, as Cruz Azul are known, who exposed their weaknesses with a flurry of goals.
The onslaught started with Gabriel Pereyra’s goal early in the match (2nd) followed by Cesar Delgado’s gem (13th) and continued by Francisco “Kikin†Fonseca (26th).
The second half also belonged to Cruz Azul, as both Delgado and Fonseca tallied their second goals of the match in the 56th and 65th minute respectively.
Kikin, who became a household name playing with UNAM, explained his reason for not celebrating his goals. “My sentiments towards the UNAM institution are very clear, like I have always said; I will not celebrate goals scored against Pumas, out of the respect and gratitude I have for the clubâ€.
Tecos 2-1 Morelia
Tecos managed a last-gasp victory over Monarcas Morelia at home at Tres de Marzo stadium. The match between Group One rivals seemed destined to end in a draw with the score leveled in the final minutes of the match. However, Jose Alfredo Castillo’s goal in the 83rd minute lifted Tecos to victory.
Tecos took the lead in the 64th minute with a Daniel Luduena free kick. Rafael Marquez Lugo answered back for Morelia, equalising in the 81st minute, but two minutes later Castillo scored the winning goal. Despite the victory, Tecos remains in fourth place, with Morelia in third place due to better goal difference.
Santos 3-0 Guadalajara Chivas
Santos Laguna striker Vicente Matias Vuoso ruined the debut of Chivas' new head coach Xavier Azcargota.
The Argentine striker played an instrumental role in Santos' victory, registering two assists and a goal. Miguel Zepeda scored both of Santos goals in the first half, with Vuoso securing the win in the 74th minute to round off a perfect night.
Chivas goalkeeper and captain Oswaldo Sanchez lamented his side's defeat. “We played terribly, it was a match where we didn’t manage to find ourselves in the field, and Santos took advantage of those circumstances to score their goals and win the match. We played very badâ€, said Sanchez.
According to the Guadalajara team captain, Azcargorta's tactics had nothing to do with the defeat, “He has many good ideas and is a very good person, he will help us improve, but we must recognize that we played a very ugly matchâ€, added Sanchez.
GROUP 1 GP W D L GF GA DIF PTS
1 América 6 5 1 0 12 5 7 16
2 Necaxa 6 2 3 1 8 6 2 9
3 Morelia 6 2 1 3 9 9 0 7
4 Tecos 6 2 1 3 8 12 -4 7
5 San Luis 6 1 3 2 6 7 -1 6
6 Atlante 6 1 2 3 11 14 -3 5
GROUP 2 GP W D L GF GA DIF PTS
1 Toluca 6 3 2 1 9 7 2 11
2 Veracruz 6 2 3 1 14 13 1 9
3 Pachuca 6 2 2 2 7 8 -1 8
4 Pumas 6 2 2 2 4 9 -5 8
5 Santos 6 2 1 3 9 8 1 7
6 Dorados 6 1 1 4 6 11 -5 4
GROUP 3 GP W D L GF GA DIF PTS
1 Cruz Azul 6 5 0 1 17 5 12 15
2 Tigres 6 3 1 2 12 9 3 10
3 Monterrey 6 3 1 2 9 8 1 10
4 Chivas 6 2 2 2 6 8 -2 8
5 Jaguares 6 0 4 2 7 10 -3 4
6 Atlas 6 1 0 5 5 10 -5 3
Joel Aceves
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