QF 2nd Leg: Pumas 1 - 3 Cruz Azul

Video highlights here.

Pumas bowed out of this year's Apertura tournament with a disappointing home defeat to Cruz Azul. The defence, which has been solid all season, made a number of important mistakes and Cruz Azul deservedly went through to the semi-final after creating a number of chances.

Pumas began with the same team that had played the 0-0 draw in the Estadio Azul, with Cacho, Leandro and Castro all on the bench. The "cementeros" again started with Carlos Bonet, and Zeballos partnered Sabah up front.

The game was scheduled for a 5pm kick off, which seemed strange as Pumas may well have gained an advantage from playing at midday, since they are used to playing in those conditions. Cruz Azul have recently played on Saturday afternoons, and the conditions clearly suited them. Whatever might be said about Mariio Trejo's decision to change the kick off time, or whether pressure was brought to bear from TV companies, the match began at a sprightly pace, with both sides pushing up onto defenders to try and force an error, and the ball being moved swiftly around.

With Pumas at an advantage, only having to draw, it seemed that the first goal was going to be crucial, and within five minutes Pumas had it. Velarde played a nice ball up the touchline to Morales. His low cross was controlled nicely by Palencia in front of the goalkeeper at the near post, and he shot in from a tight angle to put Pumas in an excellent position.

This advantage was short-lived, however, as a couple of minutes later some sloppy defending had gifted Cruz Azul an equaliser, with some help from a neat Gerardo Torrado finish. It was more than a mild annoyance to Tuca who must have been livid that complete control of the fixture had been surrendered so soon. Sabah drove towards the area and the tackle was poorly missed by Verón. Velarde allowed the centre forward to advance unhindered to the by-line where he drove in a hard cross which Juárez cleared right into the danger zone at the D. Only Verón realised the danger and no-one had marked Torrado who had all the time in the world to pick his spot past a helpless Bernal.

It was not lost on football fans that both Palencia and Torrado had started their football careers with the club they had now scored against, in both cases for the second time. The match remained open, and fairly even right throughout a noisy first half, although Cruz Azul had perhaps the clearer chances. Jehu Chiapas acquitted himself well and looked as dynamic as he has done all season, and Íñiguez looked a significant threat, reaching the by-line on several occasions, but unable to find the killer cross.

Palacios and Juárez were exposed by Zeballos a couple of minutes after the Torrado goal, but this time Bernal was able to come to the rescue, racing out to block the shot and Sabah's follow up was stopped by Pikolín. Zeballos had another great chance at the end of the half as a Lozano free-kick floated dangerously to the far post, with Verón lost, and Bernal saved with his chest, Verón managing to deflect Lugo's follow-up shot for a corner. In between time Bernal had also palmed away a nice long range effort from Bonet.

Meanwhile at the other end a dangerous cross from Íñiguez saw Beltrán slice his clearance and force an excellent diving save out of Gutiérrez. Another cross from the right wing saw Dante López head just over with the goalkeeper floundering.

It was an entertaining first half, and the second began the same way. Tuca had gambled on putting on Leandro, who was clearly still not fully fit, and bringing off Chiapas, who paradoxically had been playing pretty well. Perhaps looking for more possession and control, the Pumas team began to lose dynamism, and slowly the "Máquina" (Machine) began to get the upper hand. The advantage began to tell, and around the hour mark the push by Cruz Azul was rewarded with the lead. Vigneri had pulled another good save out of Bernal, but unfortunately for the veteran Pumas keeper he was largely at fault for the goal. A nice cross by Torrado found Sabah who headed weakly towards goal, under pressure from Verón, but Bernal had come out, missed his punch and watched as the ball rolled slowly into an empty net.

The away team commendably kept up the pressure, and Pumas were visibly on the ropes. Tuca brought on Cacho for Morales, but the lack in width on the left was noticeale thereafter, and Cacho made little impression. Meanwhile the Cementeros kept pushing and a Sabah shot broke perfectly for Villaluz after a Bernal, and he shot between Verón's legs for the third.

Cruz Azul could now afford to hang back more, and as has happened before when Pumas have been behind this season, they huffed and puffed but to little effect, other than Leandro clashing heads with Villaluz, and the youngster having to go off with a gash to the head. Meanwhile Castro came on for Sabah to make a more defensive formation and protect the lead. From then on there was never any likelihood of a way back for the home side, and Pumas head off to relax for the winter, whil Cruz Azul advance to play Atlante in the semi-finals.

Pumas utlimately can look back on a decent season, which was blighted to a certain extent by key injuries. They finished as best defense and 4th in the General Table, but were unable to go that extra step.

Goals
Juan Francisco Palencia (4 minutes) 1-0
Gerardo Torrado (6) 1-1
Miguel Sabah (59) 1-2
César Villaluz (67) 1-3

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Verón, Palencia
Cruz Azul: yellow: Riveros, Torrado, Lozano

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - some great saves that kept Pumas in the game, but a basic mistake for the second goal
Velarde 6 - a lively performance, but like all of the Pumas defenders, not consistent enough
Verón 6 - fantastic and poor in equal measures: missed Sabah for his goal and for the cross that led to the first goal, but the quickest brain when it came to filling the holes in the defense
Palacios 4 - his poorest game for a long time, was found out with balls played in behind him
Juárez 5 - one or two decent link-ups with Íñiguez but a terrible clearance for the Torrado goal
Chiapas 7 - played at a high tempo and looked lively, Pumas were more sluggish when he came off
Morales 6 - nice cross for the goal, but he has developed a tendency to fade as the game goes on
Espinoza 5 - worked hard, but still lacks positional sense as a central midfielder
Íñiguez 7 - caused a lot of problems when he got to the by-line, but his crossing was often too floated
Palencia 6 - not at fault, a well taken goal and some decent movement
López 6 - equally López was very mobile and provided a good target for Chiapas in the first half
Cacho 4 - achieved virtually nothing coming on on the left: a big disappointment
Leandro 5 - looked jaded and slightly off the pace, despite one or two nice touches, and some runs into space
Toledo 5 - would have been a better bet than Cacho: ran with purpose in the short time he was on and doubled up Beltrán with a fierce shot

Tuca 6 - probably started with the right team, but was unlucky that his defense decided to have an off day. With the one goal lead, Pumas should have been able to control the game, but they missed the possession football of Castro and Leandro in the middle. Maybe Pumas were also disadvantaged by the kick-off time, but this was most likely not Tuca's decision.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Like their senior team, Pumas Morelos were eliminated this weekend, the junior side from the semi-finals of Primera A. After going down 1-0 at Irapuato in midweek, against the tightest defense in the league, they pushed hard at home but failed to capitalise on chances, and were caught on the break to go down 1-0 in Cuernavaca, and consequently 2-0 on aggregate. The "freseros" (strawberrymen) go through to play the "gallos blancos" (white roosters) of Querétaro in the final.

The dream team of Cuauthémoc Blanco and Daniel Ludueña kept Santos on course for a double championship, after they survived a spirited first half from the "gladiadores" in the second leg tie in San Luis. Jairo Patiño converted an early free kick to bring the home side within a goal after their 3-1 defeat last week, but an 80th minute penalty for a foul on Jiménez by Diego Cervantes saw the "potosino" sent off and a penalty awarded which Blanco converted. Ludueña finished the scoring five minutes later after a nice passing move for a 2-1 win and 5-2 overall.

Toluca went through to face Santos after an ultimately comfortable victory in the Bombonera against Tecos. Although it took a long time to break down the Tecos defense, the misses in the draw in the 0-0 draw in Guadalajara ultimately cost Tecos, with Mancilla and Nava grabbing late goals to claim a 2-0 victory and allow the Toluca crowd to breathe easy.

Atlante booked their spot to face Cruz Azul in the other semi-final, as they sneaked through by virtue of a higher league position after drawing 1-1 with Tigres in Cancún. With this being the same score as the first leg, the "Potros" (colts) advanced because of their 3rd place in the overall table. Gabriel Pereyra got a lead for Atlante which left Tigres needing two, and despite a 74th minute own goal by Mustafa, the home team held on for their semi-final spot.

Next Up
Cruz Azul open against Atlante on Wednesday evening, the return in Cancún on Saturday. Santos host Toluca on Thursday and head off to the Estado de México for the return on Sunday midday.

QF 1st Leg: Cruz Azul 0 - 0 Pumas

Video here.

Despite being outplayed and looking well below par, Pumas take a slight advantage into the quarter-final second leg after Cruz Azul failed to take their chances and the first leg finished goalless. The game was also notable for the return, off the bench, of talisman Leandro Augusto (picture) after an eight-week lay-off due to a pubitis operation.

Tuca sprang a couple of surprises in the starting line-up, where there was no place for Juan Carlos Cacho, Palencia teaming up with López, and Cabrera took over the left-wing spot from Morales who has had a disappointing couple of weeks. The Cruz Azul side included ex-Pumas captain Joaquín Beltrán and ex-Pumas midfielder Jaime Lozano, while Zeballos partnered Sabah up front with Villaluz tucked in behind.

The first five or ten minutes belonged to Pumas who moved the ball around comfortably without really asking any difficult questions of the home defense, the only worry for the sky-blues an Íñiguez corner which bounced around in the area. Then Torrado started to impose himself more against the relatively inexperienced pairing of Espinoza and Chiapas and Cruz Azul had a couple of half chances with long range shots from Villaluz and Zeballos. In the meantime an excellent Villaluz cross had found Sabah unmarked deep in the Pumas area, but the striker should have done better as his effort clipped the top of the bar.

On 20 minutes Cruz Azul had strong appeals for a penalty. Sabah pushed into the area and Palacios clipped across the top of the ball and onto the number eleven's ankle. Sabah struggled on and after the ball was cleared the Azul's players' protests were waved away by referee Gómez. There have defeinitely been penalties awarded for less, and Pumas were lucky to escape this one, while Palacios needs to curb his natural instinct to dive in, particularly in the area.

Meanwhile the Pumas attack was toothless, and Ferretti replaced the lightweight Cabrera with Morales on the left. Íñiguez on the right was looking more dangerous, but Palencia and López were coming very deep and rarely had the ball facing goal. As the half drew to a close, however, the home side's domination was on the wane, and it was only an excellent save from Gutiérrez which denied Espinoza's scissors kick after good work from Íñiguez.

The beginning of the second half was relatively quiet, but Cruz Azul came out determined to make their first-half pressure count, and they showed more intensity than Pumas, particularly with Vela on for Carlos Bonet. Nevertheless Pumas started to create some danger and on the hour Espinoza raced in nicely from an Íñiguez free-kick but shot against his own player.

Vigneri came on for Sabah to add venom to the home attack, while to enormous cheerws from the away support Leandro Augusto returned to the midfield to replace Chiapas. He immediately showed what the team has been missing towards the end of the regular season with some neat touches and forward drive, but Cruz Azul did not allow him all his own way. Realising perhaps that with the away leg to come, and needing an aggregate win to progess (Pumas only need a draw due to their higher league position), the "cementeros" created a couple of chances towards the end that could have snatched the result. Riveros and Torrado had off-target attempts, but the best chance came with a minute to go. Vigneri found himself with a free header deep in the area, but Bernal produced an excellent reaction save to push the ball away.

Ferretti was rather upset with the refereeing after the game claiming Pumas should have had a penalty for a foul on íñiguez. While he may have a point, an equally clear foul on Sabah by Palacios was not given. The official was erratic in his decision making. He played the advantage rule well but a couple of his yellow cards, particularly Leandro and Juárez for Pumas and Riveros for Cruz Azul, were over officious.

Cruz Azul now travel down Insurgentes for the second leg in CU next Sunday afternoon, at the unusual time of 5pm.

Goals
None

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Palacios, Juárez, Leandro, Verón (after the final whistle)
Cruz Azul: yellow: Riveros, Torrado

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - did everything right and an excellent save near the end
Juárez 6 - would be nice to see him link up more with Íñiguez but a solid performance
Palacios 5 - a rather erratic game, some good tackles but also some poor clearance headers and the "penalty" on Sabah
Verón 8 - imperious, never looked in the least flustered
Velarde 6 - is beginning to find the dynamism he had this time last year
Chiapas 5 - overshadowed a little in the middle, could never assert himself
Espinoza 6 - his best performance in this position, but Castro was on the bench and could be back soon
Íñiguez 7 - the chief danger going forward and a couple of excellent runs and telling crosses
Palencia 5 - isolated and played too deep. His first touch was not good.
López 5 - tried hard but rarely found himself in goal-scoring positions
Cabrera 4 - looked overwhelmed by the occasion
Morales 6 - added dynamism and movement when he came on
Leandro 6 - showed enough to think that he might revive Pumas's attacking fortunes if they get through next week

Tuca - 6 an interesting idea to go with Cabrera, but frankly could just have been a kick up the backside for Morales, who has been slightly off his game

Elsewhere in Mexico
Mexico advanced to the next stage of World Cup Qualifying (the six-team group) only on goal difference after a poor display in a rain-soaked San Pedro Sula saw them lose 1-0 in Honduras. The goal was an own-goal by Ricardo Osorio, but much more worrying was the level of performance, as the midfield of Sinha and Torrado were completely outplayed. Luckily for the Mexicans, Jamaica could only beat Canada 3-1 and so Mexico go through by a couple of goals. Eriksson is now under some pressure as manager, even though, as none other than Tuca Ferretti pointed out, the problems run much deeper than just the manager. Their next competitive game is away to the USA in the first of the "Hexagonal" qualifiers.

Cuauthémoc Blanco made his return to Mexican football, as he started for Santos in their first leg quarter-final against San Luis. The green and whites, the defending champions, defeated the highest-ranked team 3-1, with notable performances from Blanco and Daniel Ludueña, the Argentinian who has been missing for a lot of the season. San Luis made things difficult for themselves, conceding an early own-goal through Óscar Mascorro, Ludueña then doubling the lead after a pass from Blanco. San Luis pulled one back when Píriz converted a Braulio Luna cross to make it 2-1, but a rebound off Vuoso gave Santos a two-goal advantage going to San Luis.

I am not sure what to make of Blanco coming as a reinforcement for Santos. I was under the impression that, despite the MLS season having finished, the transfer window (which is not yet open) was there for a reason. It is also surprising that teams in Mexico do not have to register players for the tournament at the outset. And it is also interesting how much more quickly Cuauthémoc Blanco's international papers came through compared to Martín Bravo's.

The other two quarter-final ties ended in draws. Tecos, despite dominating their home game against Toluca, were unable to make the breakthrough as Hernán Cristante the "diablos" goalkeeper had an excellent game. Equally the "owls" (tecolotes) missed a hatful of opportunities, particularly in the first half, and were unable to capitalise on the early sending off of Carlos Esquivel. The worst miss was by Fredy Bareiro who hit the post with the goal gaping, but the normally reliable Ruiz also had a couple of decent opportunities to break the final 0-0 scoreline.

Meanwhile Atlante hung in against Tigres in an intense game in Monterrey achieving a 1-1 draw that leaves them favourites to progress. Despite falling behind early on to a Hugo Sánchez header the Cancún team stuck to their task and got their reward with a 75th minute equaliser from Luis Gabriel Rey.

Pumas Morelos advanced to the semi-finals of the Primera A tournament, despite losing 1-0 to Tigres B in Cuernavaca. The hard work had been done in midweek as despite falling behind early on to a committed Tigres outfit, late goals from Oscar Rojas and substitute Eduardo Herrera saw the Pumas "filial" take a goal advantage back to Morelos after their 2-1 victory. The aggregate draw sees Pumas progress as the higher-ranked team and they will now face Irapuato who squeezed past León.

Next Up
Pumas will play the second leg against Cruz Azul in CU on Sunday. The other quarter-finals will also be completed at the weekend. Pumas Morelos travel to Irapuato on Wednesday for the first leg of the Primera A semi final.

Game 17: Monterrey 1 - 0 Pumas

Video here.

Pumas ended their regular season campaign with a poor performance and a 1-0 defeat in Monterrey. The home side were already eliminated and Pumas had already qualified so it made for an odd atmosphere inside the stadium. In the end they can take a few positives from the game: they finish with the best defensive record in the league (13 goals conceded) and incidentally joint top goal difference with Toluca, they will play the quarter-final second leg at home against Cruz Azul, and at least Efraín Juárez (picture) continued his good form.

Tuca began with the same team that started the second half so tamely last week, with Espinoza keeping his place in Castro's spot, and Palencia and Cacho inexplicably starting ahead of Dante López. Monterrey beagan with the twin strike force of Suazo and Borgetti.

The game had barely settled down when Monterrey had the lead. From a poorly conceded free-kick on the left hand side, Suazo blasted an optimistic shot towards the front post. Jehu Chiapas looked to clear but only succeeded in getting enough on the ball to push it past a badly placed Bernal at the front post. Against Atlante they were similarly punished for poor organisation defending a free kick with Maldonado's goal and this is an area Ferretti needs to look at as the Liguilla approaches.

Still, there was plenty of time for Pumas to get into it, but they failed to control the midfield and therefore created little pressure. It is unfortunate for the Pedregal team that they have lost both their major playmakers from the middle to injury: Chiapas has done reasonably well, but it is asking a lot of Espinoza to step right into Castro's shoes in a position he is unfamiliar with. Maybe the recall of Alex Diego could have been an option?

Pumas's best spell came around the 20 minute mark. First Íñiguez created a chance for Palencia, who shot narrowly over. Then, in the best move of the match Morales stormed into the area after a one-two with Cacho but Recio made a superb tackle as the left-winger was about to shoot. The "Rayados" (Stripes) created little in the way of chances either and most of the play took place near the centre circle.

Nevertheless Pumas should have been level on the stroke of half time, as a lovely diagonal ball from Chiapas found Íñiguez and his cross fell to Cacho unmarked about 8 yards out. The striker's tentative stab was very well saved by Martínez who had begun to narrow the angle, but the suspicion remains that Cacho should have done better.

For the second half night had fallen over the Cerro de la Silla (the famous saddle mountain), and sadly a veil had fallen over any quality football. Pumas more or less monopolised possession, but with Monterrey falling back more there was no real cutting edge, and only Íñiguez really looked like putting any pace on the game. Meanwhile Borgetti and Suazo could have taken out their pipe and slippers at the other end. Even the introduction of last week's hero Dante López on the hour made little difference.

The match meandered to a close, the play so dull that the Monterrey fans began fighting amongst themselves, presumably just looking for something to hold their interest. Pumas now have to look forward to the Play-offs, but they will not progress far playing like this. Their defensive solidity counts for little if they concede first and Cacho and Palencia have to start putting their chances away.

Goals
Humberto Suazo (6 minutes) 1-0

Cards
None - an indication of the lack of intensity in the game.

Player Ratings
Bernal 5 - the only thing he did was concede to another deflected free-kick. Must take some responsibility for the poor organisation at dead-ball plays.
Velarde 5 - we need to see more dynamic play coming forward, which is what he offers at his best
Palacios 6 - stayed deep but never really troubled
Verón 7 - if anything showed the most attacking urgency of anyone with a couple of dynamic runs forward
Juárez 7 - patrolled his right flank confidently, and is in a good vein of form
Morales 5 - one or two nice touches, but needs to be involved more
Chiapas 6 - a pity about the deflection for the goal, he went into his shell a little but still produced some nice passes
Espinoza 5 - lots of effort but still looks a little lost at "contención" (ball-winning midfielder)
Íñiguez 7 - looked Pumas's best option for a breakthrough and created a couple of chances that weren't taken
Cacho 5 - one or two nice passes, but he needs to score goals, and his first half miss was poor
Palencia 5 -holds the ball up well but like Cacho he needs to put the ball in the net when he has the chance
López 5 - made little difference but made one or two nice runs across the defence
Toledo 5 - his good form of a few games ago seems to have disappeared

Tuca 5 - a negative game-plan backfired. With qualification assured it would have been nice to see Pineda, Cabrera, Cortés or Bravo given a run

Elsewhere In Mexico
Pumas Morelos finished top of Primera A after defeating Mérida 2-1 in Cuernavaca. Luis Fuentes put them ahead after 37 minutes, but Enrique Pérez equalised for the visitors ten minutes after half-time. With ten minutes left Eduardo Herrera grabbed the winner, and Pumas progress to play Tigres B next week.

It was a bad week for Chivas, who despite having 25 points after their 2-0 win over Indios, failed to qualify on goal difference for the Liguilla. Tecos beat Puebla 3-0 with goals from Alcántar, Bareiro and De Pinho, and so edged out "el rebaño sagrado" (the sacred herd) by two goals. Chivas also lost at home 2-0 to Internacional of Brazil in the Copa Sudamericana semi-final first leg after Omar Arellano missed three clear chances for the home side. They now need to win by three in Porto Alegre if they are to progress to the final.

Cruz Azul claimed 5th spot overall with a comfortable 4-1 win over Jaguares, with Pablo Zeballos grabbing a hatrick. The consolation for Jaguares was by "El Bofo" Bautista in possibly his last game for the club. Pachuca let slip a chance to qualify with a poor 1-1 draw at home to Atlas. The "Tuzos" (Pachuca are known as the Tuzos - a kind of mole - because of their mining heritage) took the lead through the influential Christián Giménez, but almost immediately conceded an Atlas equaliser through Darío Botinelli.

Tigres qualified for the play-offs at the expense of Morelia who they defeated 2-1 in Michoacán. Monarcas played for an hour without Salazar, who received a harsh straight red, and Guillermo Marino got two for Tigres. Toluca booked their play-off spot with a 1-0 home victory against leaders San Luis, with Sinha getting the winner for the "diablos rojos" (red devils). Víctor Pírez missed a penalty for San Luis.

Walter Gaitán and Hugo Rodallega scored as Necaxa saw off América 2-0 in the dead game between two teams already eliminated. Necaxa therefore avoid finishing bottom of the general classification; América finish bottom of Group 2. In a dull game in Torreón, Santos and Atlante played out a 0-0 draw which puts the "Potros" (colts) into 3rd place overall. Santos finish in 10th place but qualify because of the group system, as they finished 2nd in Group One. Morelia and Chivas miss out with better records.

The Quarter-Finals
The higher ranked team will play the home leg second. There will be no midweek games as Pachuca did not qualify and therefore there is no rush to finish the championship before the World Club Championship.
San Luis (1) v Santos (10)
Toluca (2) v Tecos (7)
Atlante (3) v Tigres (6)
Pumas (4) v Cruz Azul (5)

Next Up
Pumas play their quarter-final first leg on 22nd November, the return leg on 30th. Pumas Morelos play Tigres B on the same date in the quarter-finals of Primera A. Chivas travel to Brazil for their second leg tie against Internacional in the Copa Sudamericana semi-final.

Game 16: Pumas 3 - 0 Tecos

Video highlights here.

Pumas qualified for the Liguilla of Apertura 2008 with an ultimately convincing win over Group 2 rivals Tecos. The match was billed as the best attack in the league (Tecos) against the best defense (Pumas) and in the end the Pumas defense carried it, with the team from Guadalajara restricted to very few chances. The bad news for Pumas was that key midfielder Israel Castro (picture) joined Leandro and Barrera on the injured list as he twisted his ankle just before half-time. Equally unfortunately for the player, he had just been called up to Eriksson's Mexican squad for the game against Ecuador, and he will now miss that opportunity as he is out for a couple of weeks.

The only slightly surprising aspect about the starting line-up was the omission of Dante López. Otherwise the team was the one that beat Jaguares well in midweek. Tecos omitted talisman Rodrigo Ruiz, with suspicions that he was not at match fitness, and central defender Leaño.

The first fifteen minutes were relatively even, with neither side taking control of the middle. Of the wide players, only Íñiguez looked dangerous, while Morales for Pumas, and Medina and Sandoval for Tecos looked innocuous or were subdued by good defending. The home team however gradually gained the ascendancy, particularly in terms of possession, and Verón narrowly failed to push the ball past Corona after latching onto a free kick.

Although Pumas had control of the game, the opportunities they made were all wasted, Palencia heading over after a good Íñiguez cross and then later nodding another chance weakly at the keeper. Meanwhile an excellent 27-pass move by the UNAM team came to an end with Cacho completely miskicking a decent chance. Tecos's best moment was a long range effort from De Pinho that Bernal handled with no difficulty.

Half time came with the only further incident the injury to Castro, who twisted his ankle as he went for a tackle and immediately knew he was in trouble. After a minute or two it was clear he could not continue and Fernando Espinoza took his place in the midfield. Both teams were well set at the back and even after the break it was difficult to see the deadlock broken. The match began to meander, and it even looked as though a goalless draw might be on the cards.

Tuca realised that something needed to happen and with twenty minutes left he withdrew both wide players, Íñiguez and Morales, and put on Toledo and a third striker, Dante López. He clearly figured that the Pumas defence was controlling the Tecos attacking threat and he could move to 4-3-3, with Palencia tucked in behind the front two of López and Cacho.

It did not take long for the change to bear fruit. On 72 minutes a long Bernal clearance was headed on nicely by López and Cacho raced on into the space and dragged the ball with him. As Corona came out he neatly placed the ball past the UAG goalkeeper by the near post to put Pumas into a valuable lead.

Tecos began to push forward more, realising that their play-off place was at risk, despite having a game in hand on their rivals. De Pinho managed a decent header but Bernal was well-positioned, but in Tecos's efforts to score there were now many more spaces being left at the back. As the ball came through the middle on 80 minutes, Palencia pushed the ball nicely through to López, free on the edge of the area, and he lashed into the far corner for the second, and conclusive, goal.

"El Piojo" Herrera played his last card by throwing on Ruiz, and although he showed a few nice touches, Pumas were in no mood to concede and in the final few minutes could have had three more goals, as Toledo wasted two excellent cchances before Dante López grabbed his second. The Paraguayan surged into the area, but his shot was parried by Corona. Following up, Cacho helped the ball goalwards but defender Marcelo Sosa palmed it away and López was able to put in the rebound as the referee played an excellent advantage. Sosa was subsequently shown the red card and the match was over.

Pumas, although they may not finish in the top two places in the group (Morelia and Tecos can overtake them) will at least be amongst the highest placed in the General Classification. Tecos have an outstanding fixture against Atlante to make up the lost ground.

Goals
Juan Carlos Cacho (72 minutes) 1-0
Dante López (81) 2-0
Dante López (9) 3-0

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Palencia (late tackle)
Tecos: red: Sosa (handling on the line after a previous yellow)

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - did all that was asked and a lovely long clearance for the first goal
Velarde 6 - had a lot of pressure coming down the right - it was Tecos's main outlet but coped well
Júarez 7 - his best game for Pumas - Sandoval did nothing on the left
Palacios 6 - a solid performance, but occasionally his clearance headers fell into dangerous areas
Verón 8 - outstanding and covered Velarde exceptionally well
Castro 6 - a decent first half, Pumas did not look so composed with Espinoza on
Chiapas 6 - not so incisive as in midweek, but some good distribution. He needs to work on his shooting from range
Morales 5 - quiet, and dropped too deep
Íñiguez 6 - the best attacker of the first half
Palencia 6 - he failed to take a number of chances, but worked much better holding up the ball behind the front two
Cacho 7 - with López on the field he looked a better player and took his goal well
López 8 - extremely influential scoring two and creating one
Espinoza 5 - worked hard but looked a little lost in the middle
Toledo 6 - did a lot of covering work with the three forwards on the field

Tuca 7 - a strange decision to leave out López, but made a brave move in his late substitutions and it paid off handsomely.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Santos missed a chance to ensure their qualification for the quarter-finals by conceding a late equaliser to already qualified San Luis. Ludueña took the lead for the visitors, San Luis drew level through Coudet, Santos went ahead again with a goal by Torres, but Cervantes got the 2-2 draw with a minute to go. "El Bofo" Bautista was the key figure for Jaguares as the team from Chiapas, who are already eliminated, compromised Pachuca's chances with a 2-1 win. Likewise Cruz Azul struggled against Indios and went down 1-0 to a Maggiolo winner. Nicolas Vigneri was sent off near the end for the "cementeros".

Toluca climbed above Tigres in Group 3 with a Héctor Mancilla winner in a 1-0 victory, his eleventh of the season. Atlas kept their slim qualification hopes alive by beating group 2 leaders Morelia 2-1. Achucarro and Vargas scored for the home side, while Droguett got a late consolation for Monarcas. Atlante could not confirm their quarter-final place losing to Necaxa's first win in thirteen games, the winner a Hugo Rodallega penalty.

Chivas, playing a reserve side in preparation for their Copa Sudamericana semi-final this week, went down 2-1 in Puebla, and will now struggle to qualify. América kept alive their extremely slim hope with a 1-0 win over Monterrey courtesy of an early Alfredo Moreno goal. Monterrey, Pumas's final regular season opponents, are now eliminated.

Two teams, San Luis and Pumas, have now booked their place in the last 8, while only Puebla, Jaguares, Monterrey and Necaxa are definitely out. Of the big teams, Cruz Azul have their fate in their own hands as they host Jaguares, while América and Chivas must rely on other results going their way, while beating Necaxa and Indios respectively.

Next Up
Pumas play Monterrey in a game which means little for qualification, but will decide where Pumas finish in the general table, and therefore who they will face. It promises to be a very interesting game in Torreón with Atlante playing Santos, both teams in Group 1. If Santos slip up then Pachuca or Indios could sneak through, while the Cancún team need just a point (they also face Tecos in midweek). Monarcas and Tigres who have both had good seasons face each other in what could be a winner takes all clash in Morelia.

Incidentally the games are not all to be played at the same time as in some previous tournaments. This is presumably to accomodate tv schedules.

On Wednesday Mexico take on Ecuador in Phoenix without their European-based players, one week ahead of their final group clash in Honduras. Chivas play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semi-final against Internacional.

Game 6: Jaguares 0 - 3 Pumas

Video highlights here.

Pumas put themselves right back into contention for a play-off place and leapt up to third in the overall table with a much-needed away win in Tuxtla Gutierrez against an increasingly forlorn Jaguares team. There was much more of a cutting edge on display than some previous Pumas performances, and two nice goals in the first twenty minutes settled nerves and allowed the team to play.

Tuca had again revamped the starting structure, reverting ostensibly to 4-4-2, but with the wide men Íñiguez (picture) and Morales tucking inside a little and with licence to play behind a holding front two of López and Cacho. Chiapas continued in the left-hand side (and more attacking) midfield role.

The game (after the false start where Mauricio Morales had to call play back to kick off again) had an amibitious start from both teams, and there was a lot of movement and endeavour. Both teams were also keen to play the ball to feet and work on precise passing. But before ten minutes had gone, the villain on Saturday became hero for the visitors when Ismael Íñiguez put Pumas in front. After Chiapas played him the ball he beat one player and took a nice one two from López, bursting between two defenders and slotting the ball underneath Villaseñor. It was a move made at pace, and definitely a nice tonic for both "El Cachas" and Pumas.

Only nine minutes later the away side were two up. Again it stemmed from good work by Íñiguez who controlled a difficult ball out on the right touchline. Stabbing the ball across to Morales, "El Zurdo" played another nice one-two, with Cacho, and although Villaseñor saved the first effort, Morales was able to head in the rebound for the second. After such a barren spell it was good to see Pumas's four main forward players creating danger and scoring goals.

Jaguares had to react and "Bofo" Bautista started to come into the game, coming deeper than usual and creating some space for Mora, Danilinho and Rojas. But Pumas continued to have more of the ball, and Rodolfo Espinoza came on early for Jaguares to try and turn things around. The match started to lack impetus as Pumas looked satisfied while the team in orange struggled to impose themselves. Jaguares did manage a couple of efforts before half-time, a long-range attempt from Luiz and Bernal having to save (albeit comfortably) from Rojas.

The second half started as the first had finished, Pumas holding a lot of possession but going forward with little urgency, and Jaguares scraping around and pushing forward with intensity when they had the ball. The Pumas defence controlled things calmly, allowing only a weak shot from Gutiérrez in the way of chances, plus a couple of shots from long range. Finally the team from Chiapas began to run out of steam.

From then on the game was effectively over - there seemed little way back for Jaguares and Dante López almost made it three on the hour clipping the bar with a meaty strike from the edge of the area. Then when he made way for Palencia, the veteran striker pulled a magnificent save out of Villaseñor with a curling shot headed for the top corner. It was only a couple of minutes later when "El Gatillero" Palencia got the third, after a catalogue of errors fom the Jaguares defense. A cross from Castro was miscleared by both central defenders and Palencia swivelled nicely to beat a non-plussed Villaseñor from about 8 yards out, who frankly should have done better.

Jaguares kept at the task but never really looked like breaching a well-set Pumas defense where Verón was again outstanding. They now look to be out of the running for a Liguilla place, while Pumas have their destiny in their own hands for the final two games, against Tecos and Monterrey.

Goals
Ismael Íñiguez (9 minutes) 0-1
Fernando Morales (19) 0-2
Juan Francisco Palencia (77) 0-3

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Velarde (foul on Danilinho)
Jaguares: yellow: Rojas (complaining to the referee)

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - did all that was asked of him - a couple of decent saves
Velarde 6 - saw something of him going forward and was safe in defense
Palacios 6 - steady and his distribution was better, although overplays the long ball
Verón 7 - once again approaching his best form he was untroubled and composed
Juárez 6 - a decent effort but his crossing lacks precision
Castro 7 - getting better and won a good deal of ball
Chiapas 7 - his passing and vision were very good
Morales 6 - nice goal and then drifted out of the game
Íñiguez 8 - man of the match for creating the first two goals and laying to rest Saturday's ghost
Cacho 6 - looks good laying it off for others but has lost the goalscoring touch (if he ever had it)
López 6 - Tuca is right to keep faith in the Paraguayan who contributes a lot even when not scoring
Palencia 7 - after constantly saying he looked unlikely to score, in this game he looked dangerous and his confidence is high
Toledo & Cabrera - neither on for very long but both looked spritely

Tuca 7 - his tactical judgement worked out this time, and if Pumas are to do well he needs to get the best out of Morales and Íñiguez

Elsewhere in Mexico
Two other pending league games were played on Wednesday. The Game 9 fixture between Tecos and Pachuca ended in a 2-2 draw in Guadalajara. Both teams had chances to win but the outstanding figure was Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel calero who made a number of fine saves. Tecos thus missed a chance to go back to the top of a difficult Group 2.

Cruz Azul gained ground in the same group with a3-1 away win at Tigres. Goals from Joaquín Beltrán, Miguel Sabah and Nicolas Vigneri also allowed the "cementeros" to celebrate their passage through to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League after Marathón's 2-0 win over Saprissa.

Chivas advanced to the semi-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after coming from two behind to draw 2-2 with River Plate and advance 4-3 on aggregate. They will now play Internacional, who put out Boca Juniors, on12th and19th November.

Next Up
In what is turning out to be an exciting finish to the regular season, Pumas entertain Tecos on Sunday. Pumas Morelos play Cruz Azul Hidalgo.

Game 15: Chivas 1 - 1 Pumas

Video highlights here.

In an intense and closely-fought battle, Pumas and Chivas played out a draw, which despite being the result that the game deserved serves neither team as Morelia leapt to the top of group 2. Verón was the pick of the Pumas players and grabbed the lead for the away side, searching for their first win in the Jalisco in 26 years, but Patricio Araujo hit a fine long-range equaliser for Chivas.

Tuca had promised a change in thinking after the flaccid performances of the previous few games, but the solution he came up with was strange. Efrain Velarde found himself as a central defender in a three-man line with Verón and Palacios, while Juárez and Cabrera played as wing-backs. The extra ball-winning at the back was presumably to free up Castro and to play Chiapas instead of the more robust Alex Diego. Íñiguez also found himself playing up front alongside Cacho with López and Palencia on the bench.

The original line-up was not a real success, and within half-an-hour Tuca had changed it. The format did not suit Morales who was unsure what he was supposed to do and found little time and space. Given that he has been one of Pumas's better players this season it was curious to invent a system which effectively nullified him. Similarly strange was not starting with Toledo who had done such a good job in midweek and looks on form. He, however was the man to replace Morales on 30 minutes. Chivas left Medina on the bench, and continued with Sergio Santana and Omar Arellano up front. Ocampo deputised for Magallón.

Both sides started in an orderly fashion, not giving much away. Pumas probably edged possession but were able to create little danger. The only major incident in the first part of the game was a stupid stamp by Omar Arellano to Palacios's face. After a tackle Arellano was up first and his foot made clear contact with Pikolín's head. Most people agreed there should have been some sort of card, possibly red, and at best Arellano was careless, at worst malicious. Given that he was to receive a yellow card later on the moment was important. Palacios, with blood running from his face, was understandably furious.

The first clear chance of the game fell to Chivas as a lovely cross from Ramón Morales presented Baez with a clear header, but the chance was pushed wide. Cacho responded with a shot easily saved by Hernández after being set up by Íñiguez. The only other dangerous action of the first half was a long range effort from Solis which Bernal palmed away for a corner. Meanwhile Pumas had lacked threat out wide and were trying to push through the middle, as Cabrera and Juárez were unable to create anything down the wings.

The second half began as the first had finished, with a closely fought battle in midfield, with some precise passing from both sides, but also with organised and resolute defence. It took a fantastic piece of play from a Chiapas corner on the left for Verón to open the scoring. The Paraguayan defender lost his marker with a curved run away from goal and then attacked the ball, hanging in the air to rifle the ball past Hernández.

Chivas now had to push forward more, and Efraín Flores rearranged the team, with Ocampo and ex-Puma Gonzalo Pineda making way for Medina and de la Mora, after Pineda had got overheated at Palacios celebrating the goal. There were now more spaces, and Pumas really should have gone two ahead as Íñiguez wasted the chance of the game. A one-two put him clear one-on-one with the keeper but "el Cachas" struck the simple chance against the post and the opportunity had gone.

From then on Chivas started to gain the upper hand, and Araujo equalised with a fabulously struck shot from the edge of the area. Chiapas closed the space in front of the defence, but no-one else took responsibility and there was plenty of time for the Chivas number 5 to belt the ball past a motionless Bernal. The swing of the game was now definitely with the home side, and they started to do what Pumas had failed to do during most of the game - get in some good quality crosses. The Pumas defence held well, but Chivas nevertheless could have won it at the death as Salazar wasted a great chance from a Medina cross.

The result was a fair reflection of the game, and probably suits Chivas more as they are now on 22 points, in 2nd place in group 2. Pumas lie a further two points back, although they do have a game in hand.

Goals
Darío Verón (52 minutes) 0-1
Patricio Araujo (72) 1-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Castro
Chivas: yellow: Arellano

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - did what was asked of him, although rather puzzling he did not move for the goal
Juárez 5 - had no real defensive worries, but had a lot of cover. With his system he needs to get forward more
Verón 8 - an excellent goal to cap a very good all-round performance
Palacios 6 - seemed to be in the thick of things but a defender always needs to keep his cool
Velarde 6 - did ok out of position but his attacking strengths were missed
Cabrera 5 - no real worries but lacked any cutting edge going forward
Castro 6 - the extra space in the middle saw him get forward more
Chiapas 7 - without the extra ball-winning duties he seems much more comfortable. Some excellent distribution
Morales 4 - lost and out of position - not really his fault
Cacho 5 - not really pacy enough to lead the front line
Íñiguez 6 - did enough to be worth another try in this position but he has to take those opportunities
Toledo 6 - continued his good form, but looked unsure about the team structure
López 5 - has had a recent run of bad form but is still a useful player
Palencia 5 - added nothing significant as there was little service from out wide

Tuca 6 - an interesting experiment, but I think the wing-back idea did not work even if there was more freedom in the midfield, and better passing through the middle. Cabrera is one for the future, but he does not seem quite at the level yet. Chiapas is worth perservering with and a place needs to be found in the system for Morales.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Two late goals gave América a 3-1 win in the Estadio 3 de marzo against Tecos after going a goal behind. This puts the "Águilas" with an outside chance of qualification for the Liguilla in the very tight Group 2. Bruno Marioni and Damián Álvarez got the goals as Pachuca overcame Cruz Azul in Mexico City, as the "Máquina" lost the chance to take control of Group 2. Monterrey overcame their recent bad form and a first minute Luis Gabriel Rey goal to register their first win in 7 games, 2-1 over Atlante.

Edwin Santibáñez got the winner in the "battle of the basement" Indios overcoming Puebla 1-0. while in a dull game San Luis and Necaxa shared the points in Aguascalientes 1-1. Two "Bofo" Bautista penalties were not enough to save Jaguares from a thrashing in Morelia as Andrés Mendoza grabbed a hatrick for the home side in a 5-2 win. Meanwhile an excellent performance from Israel López, including two goals, helped Toluca brush aside Atlas 4-0. In the late Sunday game Tigres hung on for a 1-1 draw with Santos after having Pedro Benítez sent off. Fernando Arce got the equaliser for the Laguneros, but they could not force the winner.

Atlante still look in prime position to qualify in Group 1, but Santos and Pachuca are closing up. In Group 2 any of the six teams could qualify, with América bottom on 18 points and Morelia top on 24. San Luis look safe at the top of Group 3 with Tigres and Toluca battling it out for second spot.

Pumas Morelos qualified for the play-offs in Primera A with a 2-1 win over Veracruz. Goals came from Fuentes and Aguilar.

Next Up
Pumas travel to Jaguares on Wednesday for the postponed game 6.

CONCACAF CL Game 6: Pumas 6 - 0 San Francisco

Video here.

In a largely irrelevant sixth group game, Pumas overwhelmed bottom-of-the-table San Francisco of Panama. The Panamanians performance cannot have pleased their manager Gary Stempl since it could charitably be described as abject. They managed only two goal attempts all match neither of which was even close to being on target, while Pumas kept the ball easily and attacked at will.

The home side started with the now accostumed mix of youth and experience, the first-team players this time being David Toledo (picture), Juan Francisco Palencia and Carlos Humberto González. Martín Bravo made his first start in the Ciudad Universitaria.

From the beginning it was clear that San Francisco were to offer little, and in particular Espinoza and Toledo down the right looked like they were playing against a village side, so easily did they move the ball around. Palencia was sluggish at the start, but Bravo darted about in a lively manner and was keen to take on the defenders. Nevertheless it seemed that Pumas were being over patient in their build-up play as they still had not made the breakthrough after half-an-hour.

Finally from a Toledo corner Palencia opened the scoring. Climbing high just outside the six-yard box he nodded the near-post delivery into the far corner past the incompetent lunge of the defender on the line. Toledo was finding ever more space and it was only a matter of time before the second goal came. On 40 minutes Toledo beat his marker and sent in a cross to the far post which Bravo finished with a powerful header, a just reward for the Argentinian's persistance, and some justification for his comments about wanting to play in the middle.

Pumas were now comfortable and there was a party atmosphere in the ground. Half time came and Tuca brought off Bravo (possibly with half an eye on the Chivas game) and replaced him with Javier Cortés. The third goal came almost immediately when Toledo was put through by a lovely long ball from González. He seemed to have lost the opportunity as he turned back behind the defenders but then finished beautifully with a low shot from outside the area.

San Francisco were in disarray and there now seemed the possibility that Pumas could reach double figures, so slack was the tackling and marking of the Central Americans. Palencia got the 4th on 54 minutes after he was put through one-on-one by Pineda, and then proceeded to miss a similar chance minutes later. Man of the match David Toledo came off shortly afterwards and it only remained for two lesser lights to complete the scoring.

Firstly Javier Cortés beat his marker inside the left side of the area and fired hard into the far corner past Valdez, his job undoubtedly made easier by lazy defending. Finally Fernando Santana was given acres of space outside the area, and he took advantage with a nice long range effort for the sixth.

Pumas, ironically given their shortage of goals in the Mexican championship, finish as leading goalscorers in the CONCACAF Champions League group stages, scoring thirteen in their three home games. It is refreshing to see the less experienced players making their mark, and it is no coincidence that Pumas Morelos are doing so well this season in Primera A. Pumas will find out their quarter-final opponents in December, and will be joined by the winner of the Dynamo v Firpo clash in Houston (Firpo go though in the event of a draw).

Goals
Juan Francisco Palencia (29 minutes) 1-0
Martín Bravo (40) 2-0
David Toledo (48) 3-0
Juan Francisco Palencia (54) 4-0
Javier Cortés (60) 5-0
Fernando Santana (72) 6-0

Cards
Pumas: none
San Francisco: yellow: Torres, Olivares

Player Ratings
Alejandro Palacios 5 - put under no pressure and had nothing to do
Fernando Espinoza 7 - full of bustle, and linked up well with Toledo
Luis Fuentes 6 - not challenged in the middle but initiated attacks dynamically
C.H. González 6 - defending against this team was a walk in the park
Juan Carlos Ramírez 5 - did reasonably well but he and Pineda didn't really click
Alex Diego 6 - won the ball well but his distribution was ponderous
Fernando Santana 6 - looking more and more confident
Orlando Pineda 5 - not his best game but a talent for the future
David Toledo 8 - stood head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch
Martín Bravo 7 - quick and direct, he looks better with each game, although admittedly here against poor opposition
Juan Francisco Palencia 6 - two good goals but should have had four
Javier Cortés 6 - dynamic with good movement but lacks a bit of pace
Luis Rosas 6 - the best compliment to pay him is that the rhythm did not drop when he replaced Toledo
Eduardo Herrera 5 - little time to impress but nevertheless put himself about

Tuca 7 - again good team selection, and there is certainly a good crop of players coming through, and hopefully putting pressure on for first team spots

Elsewhere in Mexico
Gabriel Pereyra and Clement Ovalle got the goals as Atlante went joint top of their group by beating Montreal Impact 2-1 in Cancún. Cruz Azul will have to wait and see if they qualify after going down 1-0 to Saprissa in Costa Rica, having Rogelio Chávez and Carlos Bonet sent off in the process. A draw between Marathón and Saprissa in the final game would put the Mexico City team out of the competition. Santos finished top of their group after drawing 4-4 with Municipal of Guatemala in a game of 4 penalties. Agustín Herrera converted two for the Laguneros as part of a hatrick. The draw for the quarter finals will be made in December.

Next Up
Pumas travel to Chivas where they have not won for over 20 years. Pumas Morelos entertain Veracruz.

Game 14: Pumas 1 - 1 Indios

Video highlights here.

Pumas's winless run continues, as they were held to a draw at home by strugglers Indios de Ciudad Juárez. As in the previous games, the UNAM team controlled the majority of possession, and looked untroubled at the back, but were unable to create any threat going forwards. Opposing teams now know quite clearly how to frustrate Pumas's toothless attack and despite many limitations Indios had little difficulty keeping the home team at bay.

After the midweek heroics of the "second" team, Ferretti reverted to the same starting team that gained a point in Puebla, Diego and Castro in the middle and Palencia and Dante López up front. Íñiguez, Espinoza, Palencia and Cacho who performed well against Houston were on the bench.

It was a beautiful sunny day at the Estadio Olímpico, and the crowd were in anticipatory mood. But the game began at the same tedious rhythm that had prevailed against Puebla, with Indios content to allow Pumas to play in front of them and look to break, while Pumas themselves held the ball without really knowing what to do with it. Castro seemed to be looking sideways most of the time, Diego's first touch cut down his space, and González and Velarde in particular seemed rushed moving the ball upfield.

It looked unlikely either team would score. Star man Andrés Chitiva on the left for Indios looked a shadow of the title winner with Pachuca (although he admittedly had been ill this week and may have been feeling the effects), and Tomás Campos found it hard to hold on to the ball. Diego and Castro won the ball determinedly and then often pumped aimless balls forward, or passed back to the defence who did the same.

It was Indios who had the first real chance in the 13th minute when Curbelo got away down the right, but instead of shooting he tried to find Santibáñez and Verón got back to intercept. Pumas replied with a nice cross from Morales which was met on the volley at the near post by Palencia, but he stabbed the ball just wide.

There was very little more in the way of action until Pumas spurned the chance of the first half. After a Verón free kick hit the wall Velarde crossed long, and González headed across goal to Palencia. He was unfortunate to see his shot skim off Malagueño and strike the post with Saucedo beaten, and the same defender blocked a fairly poor rebound attempt.

Tuca clearly recognised the lack of attacking threat, particularly due to the lack of urgency moving the ball forward from midfield, and so brought Toledo into the middle and brought on Íñiguez for Alex Diego. He also brought on Cacho for Palencia who had done a lot of running during the first half. Nevertheless the same style of football continued and referee Gabriel Gómez did little to help by forgetting about the existence of the advantage rule. Íñiguez did look a little more threatening down the right and Toledo more dynamic in the middle, but there were still no chances.

In the end it was Indios who broke the deadlock after some poor defending from Carlos Humberto González and Efraín Juárez. A long clearance by goalkeeper Saucedo fell just outside the Pumas box and González completely mistimed his jump allowing the ball to bounce into the area. Nevertheless the danger should have been cleared by Juárez, with Maggiolo the only Indios forward around, but the Pumas right-back got himself into a poor position and the ball bounced past him to give Maggiolo an opportunity. It all fell nicely for the Argentinian and he finished comprehensively past a helpless Bernal.

Indios nearly had a second when Campos spotted Bernal off his line and tried a shot from midfield, but the effort just cleared the bar, and the veteran goalkeeper may well have had it covered in any case. Apart from this Indios were now happy to sit back and wait to see if Pumas would do something. They arranged their two lines of four nicely and Pumas repeatedly had to return the ball to the defence and start again without achieving much. Both Cacho and López forced saves from Saucedo with long-range efforts, but apart from occasional bursts forward from Morales and Íñiguez there was little to shout about.

Nonetheless Pumas could have had a penalty when Íñiguez was sent tumbling in the area as Hernández fell awkwardly, but the referee was not well enough placed to award a spot kick. With quarter of an hour left Pumas were given a new lease of life, however, when Tomás Campos was sent off for Indios. Dante López bumped into him with his chest with the ball dead and the Indios midfielder threw himself to the ground in an exaggerated fashion which displeased the referee. He duly booked both players, apparently not realising that Campos already had a yellow for a shirt-pulling on Morales. He then had no option but to ask the player to leave the field.

In the remaining minutes Pumas pushed forward, and finally got the equaliser from a corner kick. David Toledo hit a nice cross in, Cacho headed on and the defender on the line played Morales onside who headed in from a couple of yards out. 1-1 was little more than the University team deserved for their possession, but they made hard work of breaking down a solid defensive unit, and despite ample ball and the extra man were not able to find a winner in the last ten minutes. Martín Bravo caused a few problems when he came on and put a shot narrowly over, and right at the end Toledo was cautioned for a dive in the area when he was touched by an Indios defender and had an outside shout for a penalty.

After the game Tuca admitted that the attacking strategy from the UNAM was not working, and suggested there might be some changes before Pumas's visit to Guadalajara to face Chivas next weekend. Pumas now fall to 5th in Group 2, while Indios gained a valuable point in their relegation struggle against Puebla and Necaxa.

Goals
Ezequiel Maggiolo (51 minutes) 0-1
Fernando Morales (79) 1-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Morales (late tackle), López (a bump with his chest), Juárez (poor tackle), Toledo (dive)
Indios: yellow: Curbelo, Maggiolo; red: Campos

Player Ratings
Bernal 5 - some aimless punting forward but generally sound
Velarde 5 - lost concentration on a few occasions
Verón 7 - had an excellent game and was justifiably irked by his fellow defenders conceding the goal
González 6 - looked good when he went forward and ok at the back except for the bad mistake for the goal
Juárez 6 - got forward nicely but still managed to pick up his 4th yellow card of the season
Castro 5 - needs to take more attacking responsibility
Diego 5 - poor first touch put him under pressure, wins a lot of ball and often loses or wastes it
Morales 6 - did a lot of work inside, but was double-marked much of the time
Toledo 6 - looks ok down the right, but Íñiguez offers more
Palencia 5 - worked hard but needs to score
López 5 - same comment as for Palencia
Cacho 6 - looked lively in the second half
Íñiguez 7 - the only really convincing attacker on the team
Bravo 6 - his best Pumas performance, looks fitter and his movement around the area gave the team more options, but he does need to look up more. He may have a point that he could do with playing in his preferred postition of centre forward.

Tuca 5 - it has taken him a while to realise that the strategy that works with Leandro in the team, does not work without him. He may learn from the lessons of the midweek team who attacked with more speed and purpose.

Elsewhere in Mexico
San Luis virtually assured their play-off spot with a 2-0 win over Monterrey who have not won in 7 games. Braulio Luna and Víctor Piríz got the goals. In a game of few chances which Jaguares finished with ten men, Toluca and the team from Tuxtla drew 0-0. Pachuca, playing in the Estadio Azul in Mexico City, drew 1-1 with Morelia with the equaliser an own goal from Marvin Cabrera to favour his former team.

Tigres and Necaxa also played out a 1-1 draw in Monterrey. Lucas Lobos grabbed an early lead for the home team, but ex-Tigre Walter Gaitán got a second-half equaliser. A good defensive performance saw Atlas overcome champions Santos 2-1 with goals from Botinelli and Pacheco. Cruz Azul fought back from the early sending-off of César Villaluz and two goals from "cametero" (sweet potato boy) Horacio Peralta to earn a 2-2 draw in Puebla. Vela and Domínguez scored for the visitors.

In an exciting cláscio in Mexico City, Chivas defeated big rivals América 2-1 to put in serious jeopardy the latter's qualification for the play-offs. As there is no "repechaje" this year (I am constantly surprised by the different changes in rules every season) only the two best third-placed teams will go through and América are a clear last in Group 2. Omar "Pinita" Arellano was the two-goal hero for Chivas with Domínguez getting the América strike. Atlante and Tecos will play on 9th November after their match was postponed due to a water-logged pitch.

Pumas Morelos claimed an excellent 2-1 away win against Potros Chetumal, with goals from Pablo Bonells and Javier Cortés. They now top Group 3 on goal difference and are second overall on 29 points behind Correcaminos (30).

Next Up
Pumas play their last qualifying game in the CONCACAF Champions league at home to San Francisco on Wednesday night. Atlante host Motreal Impact on Tuesday, Cruz Azul travel to Saprissa on Wednesday and Santos face Municipal on Thursday.

CONCACAF CL Game 5: Houston 1 - 3 Pumas

Video here.

Pumas qualified for the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League with a good away win against double MLS Champions Dynamo Houston. The stories of the game were of a dreadful refereeing performance by Nean Brizan of Trinidad, and a wonderful goal by Marco Antonio "Pikolín" Palacios. It was only his third goal in a senior Pumas game, and those who saw his finishing skills when he played up front under Miguel España may blink when reading the phrase "golazo del Pikolín".

Pumas began the game with mostly a second team. Palacios's brother Alejandro was in goal, with Fernando Santana, Orlando Pineda, Luis Fuentes and David Cabrera also from the reserve side. Experience was added from the senior side's bench.

The UNAM side started cagily, allowing Houston to come forward, but the US side's inaccuracy of passing led to a rather scrappy midfield struggle in which neither team had the ascendancy. Pumas were looking to use their speed on the break, and on 17 minutes they had the lead from a quick counter-attack. The ball was played through to Ismael Íñiguez who just as he was going into the area was pushed by Patrick Ianni. There was further contact inside the box and the referee was quick to award a penalty. Whether or not there was any doubt about the award of the kick, Juan Carlos Cacho stepped up and slotted the ball coolly towards the middle of the goal, as Patrick Onstad dived to his right, and that was 1-0 Pumas.

Houston continued to push forward more, this time in search of an equaliser, and Palacios nearly surprised his own brother with an overhit backpass. But Pumas were yet again able to capitalise on the spaces behind the Houston midfield, going two up after the half hour. A quick attack saw Chiapas set Orlando Pineda free down the left, and Fernando Espinoza turned up on the end of his low cross to place the ball neatly into the far corner for the second.

Houston got back into the game towards the end of the first half with their best spell of the match. Pushing forward dynnamically and using their size and strength they made life difficult for the inexperienced Pumas defenders, who nevertheless cut down the spaces and refused to be bullied. However, Houston did pull one back on 38 minutes when Cameron put in a dangerous low cross from the right and Alejandro Palacios made a mess of coming out to allow Jaqua to push the ball past him. And the same player nearly made it 2-2 a couple of minutes later as a long range effort clipped the top of the bar. Half time came at a good moment for Pumas as they were absorbing quite a bit of pressure.

Dynamo came out in the second half clearly determined to dominate Pumas physically, and they were permitted to get away with not only the odd bad tackle but some obvious foul play too. Although there were one or two cases of Pumas protests it was amazing that something more serious did not erupt as the Trinidad official lost control of the game. Jaqua had stamped on Chiapas, Holden made a number of bad tackles, and Robinson tried to headbutt the admittedly irritating Cacho. All of this resulted in one yellow card, for Holden, who was taken off by Dominic Kinnear to possibly avoid him being sent off. Ironically it was Pumas who ended up with five players in the book.

It did not make for a sparkling second half and neither side really played any interesting football, but Pumas's lives were made easier by the one shining moment of an otherwise drab half. Íñiguez played in a low near post corner and Palacios lost his marker racing towards the corner flag. As the ball came to him, he outrageously flicked a volleyed backheel past bemused defenders and amazed colleagues to rifle it into the top corner for Pumas's third. A wonderful piece of skill all the more incredible for the player achieving it. He then ran off to dance the "Jarabe tapatío" (Guadalajara syrup - a traditional Mexican dance) in celebration, later claiming he had done this because of his delight at putting one over on the Northern neighbours.

Although Pumas have only 9 points, their qualification is assured, and Houston must now fight it out with LA Firpo who grabbed a valuable 3-2 away win against San Francisco.

Goals
Juan Carlos Cacho (17 mins)(pen) 0-1
Fernando Espinoza (30) 0-2
Nate Jaqua (38) 1-2
Marco Antonio Palacios (69) 1-3

Cards
Quite a surprise there were no sendings-off in this one:
Pumas: yellow: Cabrera, Íñiguez, Fuentes, Bravo, Palacios
Houston: yellow: Holden

Player Ratings
A.Palacios 4 - looked nervous, and weak when challenged. At fault for the goal.
Pineda 7 - had an excellent game. A good prospect but now has to displace Velarde.
Palacios 7 - great goal and defended well too under pressure
Fuentes 6 - looks to have a future too as he held his nerve
Santana 5 - did not look out of place but needs to distribute better
Chiapas 6 - some nice touches
Cabrera 5 - has dynamism but lacked precision
Íñiguez 6 - caused problems with his pace, and did well to stand up before being fouled in the box for the penalty
Cacho 5 - he has to keep playing in these games, and the whole squad will benefit if he finds his form
Bravo 6 - is starting to look fitter, and is adjusting better to the pace of the game
Cortés - only on for a few moments

Tuca 6 - good team selection and didn't chase the game too much early on. The team was settled by going ahead.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Both Cruz Azul and Atlante gained 2-0 victories on Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Cancún team gained revenge for their defeat at home by winning against Joe Public in Trinidad with goals from Valadez and Pereyra. Cruz Azul struggled but finally overcame bottom team DC United with goals from Vigneri and Zeballos. Two DC United goalkeepers were sent off. Santos Laguna beat FC Tauro 3-0 in a game of four sendings-off (two each side). Christián Benítez got two and Gregorio Torres the third.

Meanwhile Chivas took home a 2-1 first leg advantage from their away fixture against River Plate in the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals. Despite being under pressure Chivas converted two of their three chances (Omar Arellano and Marco Fabián de la Mora the scorers) and River pulled one back with a last-minute penalty from Uruguayan Sebastián "el loco" Abreu, a player who has played for 7 different Mexican teams.

Next Up
The qualification race is hotting up as Pumas host Indios on Sunday. Other interesting games are Atlante v Tecos (2nd in Group 1 v 1st in Group 2), and the clásico América v Chivas. Pumas Morelos travel to Quintana Roo to meet Potros Chetumal.

Game 13: Puebla 0 - 0 Pumas

Video here.

In an insipid and at times dull game, Pumas and Puebla shared an uninspiring 0-0 draw in the Estadio Cuauthémoc on Sunday. Neither side created much threat, and although Pumas were yet again the better team they now have garnered only 2 points out of the last 5 games and have slipped further behind the leaders. Puebla meanwhile will have been happy to keep accumulating points in their battle against relegation.

The only slight surprise in the Pumas line-up was Carlos Humberto González starting ahead of Palacios. Palencia also kept his place ahead of the off-colour Cacho. Pumas old-boy Césareo Victorino started for Puebla.

It is rare to find a game in which chances and drama are so hard to find, but both Pumas and Puebla came out in orderly and rather negative fashion and there really was nothing of note to report during almost the entire first half. The nearest Puebla got to scoring was a through ball which Horacio Peralta couldn't latch on to and Bernal picked the ball off easily. Perlalta then followed through and Bernal fell to the floor spilling the ball. A free kick was awarded but nevertheless it is disconcerting to see Bernal drop the ball every time he is slightly nudged, it may cost a goal at some point.

Alex Diego and Israel Castro gave a good account of themselves in the middle as Pumas dominated possession, but Toledo and Morales had little luck down the flanks, with Morales in particular too often cutting back inside rather than getting in a dangerous cross. Verón and González looked Pumas's best option for a goal from set pieces, as López was muted and Palencia came very deep.

The second half continued as the first with no real opportunities to score for either side, until the 70th minute, when a Pumas breakaway nearly led to the opener. Morales bursting through the middle found himself in a two on one and fed Toledo just inside the area. Faced with only the goalkeeper to beat, the Pumas number 26 hurried his shot and put an excellent chance wide.

Given the stalemate, it was surprising that both managers seemed reluctant to make changes, and it wasn't until ten minutes to go that Palencia made way for Cacho and Íñiguez replaced Toledo on the right. Tuca's changes seemed to have more effect, although a little bit of extra space gave Victorino time for a long range effort which Bernal had to push away.

During the final five minutes Pumas had more chances to take the three points. Íñiguez had time to make an impact and he teed up Cacho for an easy header, after getting nicely to the by-line and pulling back for the diminuitive Mexican. The man with the Tintin quiff then proceeded to head hilariously wide when unmarked with the goal beckoning. Then Íñiguez got through once more after good work from Morales, but López missed his kick completely and Cacho fluffed the rebound.

In the meantime Cacho had almost made up for his bad miss by taking a cross down on his chest and then lobbing only inches over the bar with Oscar Dautt beaten. But it looked like nothing was going to prevent a goalless finish, and this leaves Pumas some work to do in their final five games to make sure of a play-off place.

Goals
None

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Velarde, Diego
Puebla: yellow: Peralta, Victorino

Player Ratings
Bernal 5 - nearly cost a goal in the first half with his drop, but made a decent save in the second
Juárez 5 - too anonymous going forward as had little to so at the back
González 6 - is playing well at the moment
Verón 6 - looked calm and played the ball out nicely
Velarde 6 - reasonably positive and had everything covered in defence
Castro 5 - comfortable but not sufficient drive
Diego 6 - covered a lot of ground, now needs to work more on creating opportunities
Morales 6 - coming inside too much but still lively
Toledo 4 - not his day and missed a very good chance
Palencia 5 - worked hard but as usual never looked like scoring
López 5 - his worst game for a while - often had to go wide because Morales was in the middle
Íñiguez 6 - injected some life into an insipid attack
Cacho 5 - got into decent positions but a dreadfully bad header to miss a good chance

Tuca 4 - he has to take the rap for a poor performance. Being better than a bad team is no consolation, and did little to change things until too late.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Thankfully there was more excitement elsewhere, especially in the Estadio 3 de Marzo, as Tecos trounced leaders San Luis 5-2. A brace from Victor Piríz for San Luis could not prevent Tecos consolidating first place in the so-called "Group of Death" (Group 2). Morelia boosted their chances in the same group by beating Cruz Azul in Mexico City 2-0, with goals from Romero and Droguett. América played out a dull 0-0 in Ciudad Juárez against Indios, while Necaxa's grim run continues as they lost 1-0 at home to Atlas.

Atlante went down 1-0 at Chivas with a toothless attack lacking Pereyra and Maldonado, Sergio Santana scoring for the home team. Meanwhile 20 year-old Francisco Acuña made a name for himself as he scored and made a telling all-round contribution as Tigres convincingly beat Monterrey 4-1. Héctor Mancilla grabbed two for Toluca as they saw off Pachuca 3-0 in the Bombonera, while a Christián Benítez goal was the difference in Torreón as Santos edged past Jaguares 1-0.

Atlante and Santos top Group One, Tecos and Morelia Group Two (although this group is tight) and San Luis and Tigres Group Three. For many teams there is still all to play for in the last four games (or in some cases five) as there are ten play-off places, six direct and four into "repesca".

Javier Cortés and Eduardo Herrera got the goals as Pumas Morelos defeated Jaguares Tapachula and move to second place in Group 3 of Primera A.

Next Up
Pumas travel to Dynamo Houston on Wednesday in the CONCACAF Champions League. Cruz Azul receive D.C. Untited, and Atlante travel to Trinidad to play Joe Public. Santos play Tauro FC in Torreón. Chivas face River Plate in Buenos Aires in the quarter final of the Copa Sudamericana.

Game 12: Pumas 0 - 2 Cruz Azul

Video here.

Pumas slipped further down the table after another defeat, this time at home to local rivals Cruz Azul. The reverse sees them having gained only one point in four games, including only one goal. Despite having much of the play and arguably being the better side, Pumas were unable to take their chances and two defensive errors, as against Atlante, were their undoing.

Darío Verón and Dante López were absent on international duty with Paraguay so Pumas started with Cacho and González, giving them their first all-Mexican line-up for several years. Cruz Azul started without Gerardo Torrado, in action for Mexico, but did boast ex-Pumas Joaquin Beltrán and Jaime Lozano.

The first few minutes of the game were very open as both sides pushed forward with purpose, keen to make a good impression early on after being unable to win their last three. Morales was making inroads down the left, and Toledo was mobile giving Pumas the edge, and Palencia went close with a header. Then Carlos Humberto González cleverly worked free of his marker at a free kick but put the header just wide. At the other end Bernal had to be alert to stop a strong Zeballos header and the veteran goalkeeper clasped it at the second attempt.

Pumas continued to control the ball and looked comfortable dealing with Cruz Azul counter-attacks, but Beltrán was in fine form in the "cementeros" defence and Toledo had a snap-shot inside the area well saved by Gutiérrez, while Cacho showed good movement and also went close. Chiapas and Castro were distributing well, González looked in good form at the back, and both wingers looked strong. It looked only a matter of time before Pumas would score. And it looked like Palencia had done just that just before half time as he swivelled deep in the area to shoot firmly at goal, but the young Cruz Azul keeper was alert and made a good save to push the ball for a corner.

In the second half Pumas continued to have the upper hand, but still could not score, the closest they came being a lovely counter-attack which ended with Cacho feeding Morales who pushed narrowly wide as he attempted to chip the advancing Gutiérrez. Toledo had also threatened with a well struck shot from the edge of the area which flew just wide.

It was mystifying with this advantage that Tuca should withdraw the dangerous Morales for Íñiguez who came onto his unfavoured left side. The team suddenly lacked balance and the pattern of the game changed. Cruz Azul looked more confident in the middle, but it was an unfortunate slip by Palacios who got caught narrowly out of position which let in Villaluz to feed Zeballos on the left, and he pushed the ball past Bernal for the lead.

Again Tuca reacted in a strange way, bringing on a subdued Orlando Pineda who had played two days before and lacked big-match experience, and then bringing off right-back Juárez for Martín Bravo. The team structure was all over the place by then, and it was little surprise when Cruz Azul sealed victory five minutes from time when two of their substitues combined. Alejandro Vela (brother of Carlos) slipped down the left in the channel left free by Juárez's withdrawal and crossed accurately for Orozco to head powerfully into the net.

So that was that. Pumas drop back to fourth in Group 2, and seventh overall, while Cruz Azul go to the top of the same group.

Goals
Pablo Zeballos (69 minutes) 0-1
Javier Orozco (86) 0-2

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Chiapas, Juárez, Palacios
Cruz Azul: yellow: Héctor Gutiérrez, Viades, Beltrán

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - could do nothing much about the goals and released his players quickly when he could
Juárez 6 - looked good going forward but is always getting carded
Palacios 6 - an excellent game and then he falls over and gives away the goal
González 6 - his best game for a long time, and then he wandered into no man's land and gave Orozco a free header for the second
Velarde 7 - lively and composed in defence - Cruz Azul did nothing down the right
Castro 6 - a decent ball-winning stint
Chiapas 6 - a good solid game with some nice passes and crosses
Morales 6 - not always precise but often difficult to deal with
Toledo 7 - a constant danger on the right, and brought the ball up well in the middle too
Cacho 5 - lots of movement but he needs to score, and get into more scoring positions
Palencia 6 - worked hard but no goal
Íñiguez 5 - ineffective on the left and drifted out of the gqame after that
Pineda 4 - sorry to have to say this but looked completely lost
Bravo 5 - added nothing

Tuca 4 - dreadful substitutions - the first merely for the sake of it then the others to desperately try and rescue things. Why is it always necessary to make all three changes? Couldn't Íñiguez have come on on the right?

Elsewhere in Mexico
Leaders San Luis played out an interesting 0-0 draw at home to Chivas. "El Bofo" Bautista scored two as Jaguares thrashed under-pressure Necaxa 4-0 in Tuxtla. A drab game saw Tigres overcome Tecos 1-0 in Monterrey with the goal coming from "El Pájaro" Aguilar. Atlas and Monterrey played out a muddy 0-0 in Guadalajara, although the hosts were aggrieved not to have had a penalty.

In a strange match in Cancún, Indios de Ciudad Juárez pulled back from two behind to draw 3-3 against Atlante for whom Gabriel Pereyra was sent off. Pereyra himself had got two for the home side while Ricardo Esqueda got a brace for Indios. Two goals from Andrés Mendoza helped Morelia overcome Toluca 3-2 in Michoacán, while Santos went down 2-0 at Pachuca after they had two goals disallowed for dubious offsides. Alfredo "el chango" Moreno got the lead for América at home to Puebla then got himself sent off before Fabiano Pereira equalised with three minutes left as it finished 1-1.

Atlante (23pts) comfortably lead Group 1 from Santos (16), Cruz Azul (19) top Group 2 from Tecos (18) and San Luis (24) remain top overall and in Group 3, with Tigres (18) in second. Pumas are 4th in Group 2 with 17 points.

Pumas Morelos notched up a 3-0 away win in Toluca against Atlético Mexiquense, with goals from Salvador Medina, José Aguilar and José Tovar.

A dreadful performance in Kingston saw Mexico lose 1-0 to Jamaica as they got involved in a physical encounter on Wednesday. Stoke City's Ricardo Fuller got the goal.

World News
Ex-Puma Joaquin Botero (Pumas 2003-2006) scored twice as Bolivia beat Peru 3-0, thus becoming the top scorer in his country's history as well as the leading scorer in the South American qualifiers with 5 goals. A hard-working player with a low profile, he struggled to make an impression in Mexico scoring only 14 goals in 72 games despite some good performances. Botero is now with Bolivar in his native Bolivia.

Next Up
Pumas travel to Puebla next weekend. There is no midweek fixture because of internationals. Mexico travel to Canada in their latest World Cup qualifying fixture. Pumas Morelos host Jaguares.

CONCACAF CL Game 4: Firpo 1 - 1 Pumas

See the video here.
Read & hear about all Champions League games here.

On a muddy night in the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, the Pumas youngsters grabbed a point to keep them at the top of their qualifying group in the CONCACAF Champions League. While the football was not of a high standard, at least Martín Bravo began to pay back the faith showed in him with a nice finish for the equaliser.

Of the starting eleven, only Ismael Íñiguez and captain for the night Fernando Espinoza can claim to have been first team regulars. Juan Carlos Ramírez and Fernando Santana made their first starts in the competition, and Pablo Bonells partnered Bravo up front. Firpo were without two players called up to the national squad, goalkeeper Juan José Gómez and defender Manuel Salazar.

Pumas began the game controlling possession despite the sticky conditions, but clear openings were hard to come by. Neither side showed any degree of penetration, and Íñiguez, despite his experience, could make no impression down the right. Bravo did make a direct run into the box past three defenders but his cross ran across the face of the goal with no Pumas support in sight. Shortly later a corner fell to Cabrera but his shot was pushed away by the keeper. These incidents apart the most either side managed was the occasional long-range shot of little danger.

The second half continued the imprecise and messy pattern of the first, with another long-range Pumas effort pushed away. But then Pumas's old failings when defending dead ball situations came to the surface and Firpo were one ahead. Pekarnik took an inswinging corner on the left and Quintanilla rose unchallenged on the six-yard line to head past Palacios.

Minutes later Martín Bravo was celebrating the equaliser and his first goal for Pumas. Íñiguez crossed from the right and "el Rata" took the ball down on his chest and fired low into the far corner. The goal, however, did not spur the Pumas into greater action and the game settled down once again into a dull domination of midfield with a lot of mistakes and little goalmouth action.

Ferretti made a couple of changes and brought on Medina, Cortés and Herrera and there was time for Íñiguez to miss a couple of decent chances and Herrera to come close. But there never truly seemed a realistic prospect of a goal from either side.

The game ended with a curious incident. Goalscorer Quintanilla was given a direct red card for a late challenge on Espinoza, but when the game restarted he hadn't left the field. Play continued for a couple of minutes until the Pumas players finally brought it to referee Ricardo Zelaya's attention. It was then that Quintanilla went off but Pumas players were also upset that the Honduran referee failed to add on extra minutes which were lost while all this was happening.

Failure to win puts more pressure on Pumas for their trip to Houston on 22nd October, but they still lead the table and will all but confirm their passage to the next stage with a win in the United States.

Goals
Mauricio Quintanilla (51 mins) 1-0
Martín Bravo (54) 1-1

Cards
Pumas: none
LA Firpo: yellow: Sánchez; red: Quintanilla

Player Ratings
Palacios 6 - did nothing wrong and seems to have leap-frogged Patiño as reserve goalkeeper
Ramírez 5 - solid at the back against a limited Firpo attack
Fuentes 6 - brought the ball out of defence well
Espinoza 5 - the team needed more of a captain's lead and he was largely anonymous
Cabrera 6 - lively and the most mobile of the Pumas players on the night
Santana 5 - struggled with the accuracy of his passing in the mud
Diego 5 - found the sticky conditions difficult and never seemed to have any balance
Pineda 6 - found some space and was one of Pumas's better attacking options
Bonells 5 - lumbering, and with poor control
Íñiguez 6 - did ok but a man of his experience in this company should have shone more
Bravo 7 - not a complete performance but a couple of very promising moments
Cortés 5 - added nothing much to the attacking options when he came on
Medina 5 - did nothing of note
Herrera 6 - looked willing to get involved and a better bet than Bonells.

Tuca 5 - I am still not convinced by this sort of selection. Nevertheless the fixture list is crowded and with a Sunday game against Cruz Azul crucial in Group 2 of the Mexican championship you can understand the decision.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Santos Laguna gained some sort of revenge for their soggy defeat in Puerto Rico by overcoming the Islanders 3-0 at home with goals from Peralta, Hernández and Herrera.

Atlante drew 1-1 after letting slip a lead in Honduras against Olímpia. A free kick by goalkeeper Federico Vilar had put them ahead, but Wilmer Castro equalised in the 83rd minute for the Hondurans.

Cruz Azul had also had trouble on Tuesday night against Honduran oppostion, drawing 1-1 at home with Marathón. Javier Orozco had put Cruz Azul ahead early on, but Marathón drew level in the 87th minute through Erick Norales.

Next Up
Despite it being a FIFA international weekend, there are amazingly still league fixtures in Mexico. Cruz Azul visit Pumas, Pumas Morelos travel to Atlético Mexiquense and Mexico visit Jamaica.

Game 11: Pumas 1 - 1 América

Video here.

Pumas and América shared the spoils in an even match in CU. Neither side could gain control of the game, Pumas had more possession, América more speed, but both sides lacked precision and it was a fair result. This leaves Pumas 2nd in group 2, while América languish at the bottom of the same group.

Pumas started with a standard eleven, Palencia getting the nod over Cacho, with Toledo and Chiapas preferred in midfield to Diego and Íñiguez. América's foreign contingent of Insúa, Moreno and Cabañas also started.

The game was a sell-out and there was a good atmosphere inside the stadium although the club's advice to get there early was maybe counter-productive as with so many people hanging around outside there were bound to be one or two differences of opinion, and some arrests were made.

Despite all the support and anticipation, the first half lacked spark. América were happy to sit back as Pumas domintated possession, yet there were very few chances and little goalmouth action. Nevertheless the "Águilas" went ahead early through an Argüello free kick on the right. Floating it in the Pumas defence was flat-footed and Bernal stuck to his line, and the ball brushed Moreno's hair and ended up in the net. With such an early lead, América clearly did not have to take any chances, and in front of their home support it was up to Pumas to chase the game.

The dangerous Cabañas received very little ball during the first half, and América looked unlikely to increase their lead, while Pumas over-elaborated and had to rely on shots from distance by Castro and López which caused Ochoa no problems. Chiapas meanwhile was precise and neat but lacked dynamism and it was no surprise when he made way at half time for Íñiguez. Toledo and Morales had looked lively but their crosses continued to be wayward, and after the change Toledo dropped back into the centre.

After half time the match had just about settled into the same pattern when Pumas equalised. From an América corner, Bernal released the ball quickly to Palencia who fed Dante López. The Paraguayan moved up towards the edge of the box and pushed the ball into the path of Morales who hit a precise left-footer from the edge of the area into Ochoa's bottom left-hand corner. It was a nice strike, and an example of counter-attacking that Pumas should observe for the future.

The goal opened the game up, and gaps began to appear for both teams. Castro went close after a one-two with Palencia, and Moreno put a header over the top at the other end. The battle in the middle was also hotting up, and Cacho took over from Palencia for Pumas while Esqueda came on for Alfredo Moreno for the visitors.

As the game neared its close both sides had opportunities to grab the three points, but Bernal and particularly Ochoa came to the rescue, while some chances were spurned through poor finishing. The América goalkeeper pushed away a strange Carlos Humberto González effort at full stretch, and also reacted well to stop a Dante López shot after he had made himself space down the right. At the other end Esqueda put a good chance over the top, and in a similar situation on full time Bernal closed the angle well and was able to knock the ball away.

As the final whistle went, Pumas still had yet to win over América in Ferretti's reign, and have not beaten the team from Coapa in CU since their 4-3 win in August 2003.

Goals
Alfredo Moreno (8 minutes) 1-0
Fernando Morales (49) 1-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Juárez, López
América: yellow: Vera, Silva, Villa, Castro

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - may have been at fault on the goal, but it was his quick thinking that set up the equaliser, and made a good save at the end
Velarde 6 - very solid and gave Morales good support
González 6 - his best game for a while
Verón 7 - always in control
Juárez 6 - looks more comfortable, but why does he get booked so often?
Castro 6 - worked hard but lacks Leandro's organisational abilities
Chiapas 5 - looked neat but lacked dynamism
Morales 6 - nicely taken goal but his crossing was off target
Toledo 7 - played his best since returning from Atlante, and not out of place in the middle either
López 7 - tireless in his running and unlucky not to score in the second half
Palencia 6 - lots of good link work, but again looked unlikely to score
Íñiguez 5 - does not look back to full fitness, although his pace caused the odd problem
Cacho 5 - still to find his form after the false dawn of his hatrick
Diego - only on for ten minutes

Tuca 6 - I like the fact he has been consistent with selection and now he just needs to add a little more dynamism to the attack. Pumas haven't played badly and yet have only gained one point out of 9.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Tecos moved to the top of what is becoming a tough Group 2, defeating Atlas 3-1 in Guadalajara, Atlas’s second consecutive defeat in the city. Ex-Puma Jaime Lozano missed a penalty for Cruz Azul at Toluca but an own goal by Mario Méndez saved his blushes as the score finished 1-1.

Brazilian Itamar Batista was once again the star as he scored one and gave a scoring pass for Jaguares in their 2-1 victory in Monterrey, who dominated the game but failed to take their opportunities. Chivas threw away a 2-0 lead as Tigres grabbed two in two minutes to take a point in the estadio Jalisco, and leave Chivas second bottom in group 2.

Indios de Ciudad Juárez took a two-goal lead after four minutes against San Luis but the leaders stormed back to win 3-2, including a brace from Alfredo González. Necaxa are at the foot of the general table after playing well, but drawing 1-1 at home to Pachuca. Christian Correa took the lead for Pachuca on the hour, but 7 minutes later “El Grillo” (the cricket) Biscayzacú got the equaliser.

Maldonado and Muñoz got the goals as Atlante confirmed themselves in second place in the overall table with a 2-0 win at Puebla. Meanwhile, despite a lack of possession, champions Santos overcame Morelia by a single goal, a fine effort by Christián Benítez being the difference.

Pumas Morelos defeated Lobos BUAP 3-0 in the Estadio Centenario in Cuernavaca, with goals from Pablo Bonells, Salvador Medina and Eduardo Herrera. Incidentally nine of the starting eleven have played for the Pumas first team.

Next Up
Pumas wait until Thursday before facing Luis Ángel Firpo in El Salvador in the CONCACAF Chamions League. Cruz Azul host Marathón of Honduras, Santos entertain the Puerto Rico Islanders and Atlante travel to Olimpia.

CONCACAF CL Game 3: Pumas 4 - 4 Houston

Video here.

The third group game of Pumas's CONCACAF Champions League challenge was a strange encounter in CU. In a first half full of movement and defensive fragility seven goals were scored, and it was not until the last twenty minutes of the match that any structure or order appeared. Fernando Morales (picture) was the pick of the players. Pumas must be unhappy with the result as they were manifestly the better footballing team, but were undone by the height and power of the Americans, and by some crass defending.

Apparently realising the possible threat of a strong Houston side, Tuca named pretty much a first eleven, with Palencia replacing Cacho from the game against Atlante, and Verón coming in for Palacios. The latter was a curious decision as González struggled all night against the tall Houston front line, and Palacios's height would have been useful, but maybe Ferretti wanted to give the Verón - González pairing game time before the América match on Sunday.

The game began with little or no rhythm, the play flowed from end to end and there was little in the way of building or structure in the middle of the field. In terms of pattern, all that really can be said is that there was a great deal of movement, and some poor defending.

Pumas looked shocked to be behind after only four minutes, but the American side looked well organised at dead ball situations, and it was at a corner they took the lead. Ex-Sunderland player Stuart Holden swung the ball in from the right and no Pumas defender challenged for the ball, while Bernal made a disastrous sortie which allowed Craig Waibel to head into an empty net, and Jaqua would have scored too if his colleague hadn't got there first.

There was more shock to come on the quarter-hour as Houston scored their second, after Palencia had nearly surprised goalkeeper Patrick Onstad with a thirty yard lob. Geoff Cameron picked up the ball on the right and somehow made his way past three hapless Pumas defenders and when the cross came in there were incredibly four Dynamo forwards to two Pumas defenders. The cross was knocked down by Ashe and Kamara smashed it past Bernal from near the penalty spot.

Luckily for Pumas their movement was also too much for a heavy-footed and static Houston defence, and a nice give and go by Dante López was knocked back into his path by Palencia, and López beat Onstad to pull one back. López nearly levelled with another run down the left channel, but on the half-hour Pumas were back on terms. Chiapas played another quick ball through, this time for Morales, who was brought down on the edge of the box by Eddie Robinson. With another referee Robinson might have been heading down the tunnel as it could be argued he was the last man. As it was the equaliser came from the free kick. Castro shot right-footed against the wall and the rebound fell to Efrain Juárez on the edge of the box and he hit it first time past Onstad.

Maybe at this point, with the match frantic and disordered, one of the more experienced players might have thought to calm matters a little, but within 7 minutes Juárez had given away a penalty when he got in a tangle with Ashe as he surged towards goal. It was clumsy as he had not even given himself a chance to win the ball with a challenge. Kamara stepped up to rifle the spot kick past Bernal, and Houston were leading 3-2.

To give credit to the home team, they didn't lie down and the openness of the game continued to be disconcerting. Another 7 minutes went by and Pumas were on terms again. Velarde floated a lovely ball through to Morales on the left, and he centred for Palencia to finish coolly. A crazy first half came to an end with Pumas taking the lead as an Íñiguez free kick was met by a completely unmarked Darío Verón just outside the six-yard box who headed Pumas's fourth.

One would have thought that a few quiet words from the coaches at half-time might have settled things, but the same chaotic football began the second half, neither side having made any changes, although Holden had gone off injured earlier and was replaced by Mullan. Eventually Tuca made the curious decision to bring off Verón, and bring on Palacios, and at the very moment they were defending a corner. Firstly it was González that was struggling, so unless Verón was injured it was a strange move. Secondly Pumas had had trouble against set pieces all night, and having to rapidly rearrange to defend a corner was not great preparation. In the end the defence got into a right tangle: a weak clearing header fell to Brian Mullan on the right and he floated a ball in for Weibal to head unhindered past a static Bernal, who should perhaps have come out.

For a few minutes more the match remained open, but Houston decided to fall back and hold on for the draw, and Pumas then played the ball around calmly without creating much, as Cacho and Bravo came on for Dante López and Paco Palencia. Although the UNAM had all the possession in the final twenty minutes, and probed gently, the weight of numbers behind the ball was too much. In the end the best late chance fell to Houston substitute Rosario whose medium range effort was pushed away by Bernal in the last minute.

Pumas stay on top of the qualifying group with 5 points, while Houston register their second draw.

Goals
Craig Waibel (4 minutes) 0-1
Kei Kamara (16) 0-2
Dante López (18) 1-2
Efraín Juárez (27) 2-2
Kei Kamara (pen) (34) 2-3
Juan Francisco Palencia (41) 3-3
Darío Verón (45) 4-3
Craig Waibel (50) 4-4

Cards
Walter Quesada of Costa Rica was quite leniant with cards: Eddie Robinson could have gone off and Juan Carlos Cacho might well have had a yellow for foolishly lashing out.
Pumas: none
Houston: yellow: Robinson

Player Ratings
Bernal 5 - at fault for the first goal and the last but made a couple of decent interventions too
Velarde 6 - looked good going forward but allowed Cameron far too much space
Juárez 5 - hero and villain. Great goal but far too loose at the back
Verón 5 - a poor game defensively
González 5 - struggled to cope with the physicality of the opposition
Castro 5 - anonymous in a midfield that was often bypassed
Chiapas 6 - did not do enough as a ball winner but some very nice touches going forward
Morales 7 - caused all sorts of problems, a very good match
Íñiguez 6 - not to blame for the defensive malaise but too subdued going forward
López 7 - another all-action display. Has turned into a very good purchase
Palencia 6 - scored nicely but missed a couple of gettable chances too. Used his strength well
Palacios 7 - apart from the goal when he had just come on, was a stabilising influence
Cacho 6 - one or two nice touches that didn't quite come off
Bravo - really didn't get any ball to speak of

Tuca 6 - the right kind of line-up again and was let down by some naive defending. Curious to bring off Verón and not González.

Elsewhere in Mexico.
After a conservative but effective performance in Curitiba, Brazil against Atlético Paranaense , Chivas went through to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana with a 4-3 victory. Arellano and Santana scored two spectacular goals that avenge Chivas's elimination at the hands of the same team in 2005.

San Luis went out after being completely outplayed by Argentinos Juniors and losing 2-0 (4-3 on aggregate). Argentinos go on to play Palmeiras in the quarter finals.

A Zeballos goal claimed a one-nil victory for Cruz Azul away to DC United, while in the other match in Pumas's group in the CONCACAF Champions League Luis Angel Firpo registered a 1-0 home win over San Francisco.

Santos suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Tauro of Panama in a close game where Juan Pablo Santiago was harshly sent off. Atlante struggled too, losing 1-0 to Joe Public in Cancún, where they were unable to cope with the physicality of the Trinidad side.

CONCACAF Champions League So Far:- (Brought to you by DT, scroll down the posts to see the links to video highlights of all games)
Preliminary Round First Legs
Preliminary Round Second Legs
Group Stage Matchday One
Group Stage Matchday Two
Group Stage Matchday Three - with Gary Stempel interview

Next Up
Pumas entertain América in the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. Pumas Morelos host Lobos BUAP.

Game 10: Atlante 2 - 0 Pumas

Video here.

In a quality game of football on a damp night in Cancún Atlante moved up to second place in the general table after edging past Pumas, who have not defeated Atlante since 2004. The Atlante goals were both the result of Pumas errors, and the university side also finished the game with ten men.

Pumas started with the same side that lost to San Luis last week, but with the suspended Verón replaced by Carlos Humberto González, and Jehu Chiapas promoted ahead of Alex Diego. Íñiguez was on the bench, with Toledo continuing on the right flank. Atlante had their main playmakers available and their chief threats came from Christian "El Hobbit" Bermúdez, Gabriel "El Místico" Pereyra and Venezuelan Giancarlo Maldonado. Pumas old boy Gerardo Espinoza was also in the line-up.

The game started at the right rhythm for Pumas as they began strongly, dominating possession and moving the ball around fluently. Morales was looking lively on the left and Chiapas supported well from midfield. Meanwhile Cacho and particularly Dante López were moving around nicely and creating space. Early on Chiapas sent in a cross from the right which found López open but the ball was just taken off his head by Cacho as they failed to communicate. Then Chiapas found Toledo who brought the ball down and fired across Vilar but against the inside of the upright.

As time wore on Pumas continued to dominate but could not create too many more chances as the Atlante defense settled. And it was completely against the run of play that Atlante took the lead. From a free kick at least 30 yards out Maldonado drilled the ball low at the three-man wall. The ball flicked from López's boot with a slight deflection sending it past a sluggish Bernal. There is a case for saying that there should not have been a wall at all from that distance, and it did not help Bernal, but then he was the one who took responsibility for organising it.

The goal kick-started the "potros" effort and Pumas were thrown more onto the back foot. The game slowed down and it suited Pereyra who was able to control things more, managing to slot one pass through to Maldonado who put it wide after Bernal narrowed the angle.

Despite the scoreline Pumas had been the better team in the first half, but Ferretti clearly thought a change was needed, and he replaced Toledo with Íñiguez and Cacho with Palencia for the second half. Atlante came out unchanged, and proceeded to push forward with more urgency. Pumas moved the ball around nicely but Atlante seemed to have that extra penetration. A Maldonado free kick caught Pereyra on the shoulder and it clipped the outside of the post, and Venegas came close with a header.

The game was effectively decided in the 67th minute with the sending-off of Marco Antonio "Pikolín" Palacios. The Pumas number 3 came in to tackle Ovalle on the right-hand touchline. Ovalle pushed the ball on but it was intercepted by Palacios at full stretch, and then the Atlante left-back fell over Pikolín's outstretched leg. Strictly interpreting the laws it should have been an Atlante throw-in, but you can imagine a referee giving a free kick. But to the surprise of almost everyone in the stadium, Fabián Delgado, who was in a poor position to see, gave Palacios a direct red. It was a strange move, as he had had a great game up till then, and only a shaky five minutes after the incident. Perhaps he was influenced by the roar from the crowd, but I am mystified at referees making decisions on incidents they don't see.

Velarde moved into centre-back and Chiapas to left-back, and with Martin Bravo now on for Morales (incidentally upsetting Íñiguez's rhythm by shifting him to the left) Pumas carried on probing for the equaliser. But the balance of the team was not there and the "Potros" were able to counter-attack with much more threat, and in the last fifteen minutes they created a few opportunities. Maldonado hit the outside of the post with a shot from outside the area and Pereyra lobbed over with just Bernal to beat, while Rey volleyed one-on-one straight into the goalkeeper's arms.

Nevertheless with five minutes left, Atlante's victory was safe as Rey capitalised on a misunderstanding between Velarde and Bernal. As Rey came through Velarde got ahead of him and was easily shepherding the ball into the oncoming Bernal's hands, but at the last minute he gently touched it past him, and Luis Gabriel "El Canguro" (the Kangaroo - watch his goal celebration) Rey took advantage to roll the ball into the empty net.

Despite losing their last two, Pumas remain top of a tight Group 2, while Atlante stretch their advantage at the top of Group 1.

Goals
Giancarlo Maldonado (24 minutes) 1-0
Luis Gabriel Rey (85) 2-0

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Chiapas, red: Palacios
Atlante: none

Player Ratings
Bernal 5 - not a great game, possibly at fault for both goals
Velarde 6 - played pretty well, a pity about the error for the second goal
Palacios 7 - a rock in the defense and should not have been sent off
González 5 - Pereyra, Bermúdez and Maldonado often found it easy to play in the ball behind him: Verón was missed
Juárez 6 - a sound if unspectacular game
Chiapas 7 - neat and tidy, composed and put in some good crosses
Morales 6 - started brightly but faded
Toledo 6 - looked lively, but Ovalle slowly got the measure of him and by the end of the first half he was lying too deep
Castro 6 - early on he was in command, but did not impose himself enough on the attack
Cacho 5 - disappointing again. There were moments where he seemed to have half an understanding with López but...
López 7 - lots of movement and work-rate, but too often was working with his back to goal
Íñiguez 5 - didn't take people on and barely produced a cross. Hardly helped that he was switched wings after ten minutes
Bravo 5 - there were touches of what might be, but against good opposition it is not enough
Palencia 6 - did what he always does, works hard but never looks like scoring

Tuca 6 - should have persisted with the first half line-up for longer, although he probably made the right changes.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Youngster Arnhold Rivas, recently and rather controversially called up to the national squad, grabbed two for Tecos as they beat Jaguares 3-1 in Chiapas. Puebla held on for a 1-1 draw in San Luis after a nice effort by Horacio Peralta had put them ahead. Rodolfo Salinas equalised for the "Gladiadores". Pachuca gained a 2-1 home victory against Monterrey thanks to a Bruno Marioni penalty, while Tigres dominated against Indios but lost 1-0 after missing a penalty and having Blas Pérez sent off for a gesture aimed at the linesman.

In the "clásico tapatío" (Guadalajara derby) Chivas sneaked past rivals Atlas 1-0 with a goal from Xavier Baéz. Héctor Mancilla continued his good goalscoring form with one of the goals in Toluca's 2-1 defeat of champions Santos, and Andrés "El Condor" Mendoza hit a brace as Morelia beat Necaxa 3-1. Salvador Cabañas scored his fifth goal in five games, as he hit two to help América to a 2-0 win against Cruz Azul in the "clásico capitalino".

San Luis top the general table, from Atlante, while Pumas drop back to third. These three sides top their respective groups.

Pumas Morelos claimed a 3-1 win at Tiburones Rojos de Coatzacoalcos, with goals from Luis Rosas (2) and Orlando Pineda. In the second division Pumas Naucalpan drew 1-1 with Inter Playa, but won the bonus point 5-3 on penalties.

Next Up
Pumas host Houston Dynamo in CU on Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League. Other games include Cruz Azul's visit to DC United on Wednesday, and Atlante enertaining Joe Public on Thursday.

In the Copa Sudamericana Chivas travel to Atlético Paranaense on Tuesday after their 2-2 draw in Guadalajara, while on Wednesday San Luis defend their 2-1 scoreline in Argentina against Argentinos Juniors.

CONCACAF CL Game 2: Pumas 3 - 0 LA Firpo

Video here.

Pumas got their selection right this time and easily overcame a disappointing Luis Ángel Firpo side who were unable to hold on to possession long enough to create a real threat. The hero was youngster David Cabrera (picture) who scored two of the three goals. The damage was done in the first half, and Pumas possibly should have had more missing a hatful of second-half opportunities.

Tuca's selection for the game was made easier by the suspension of Darío Verón from the coming game against Atlante and the return from injury of Ismael Íñiguez. Cacho, who has been out of sorts, partnered Palencia up front, while Bernal added his experience in goal.

Ironically, as it turned out, Firpo started the brighter, and had their only chance of the night in the 3rd minute, Patricio Gómez forcing Bernal into little more than a regulation save. But from then on it was one way traffic as the home side took the lead after ten minutes. Jehu Chiapas put in a dangerous cross from the right, and Cabrera met it beautifully about eight yards out to head past Juan José Gomez.

The game was not pretty, but Verón and González had little difficulty containing the central americans, while Íñiguez always looked threatening down the right. Although not at their best, Palencia and Cacho got into some nice positions, and the latter had two shots saved, while "Paco" pulled a couple of chances wide.

Then with two quick strikes the game was all but over. On 35 minutes a Palencia cross found its way through to Orlando Pineda at the back post and he finished clinically into the bottom corner. And two minutes later "el Cachas" Íñiguez raced down the right to the by-line and fired in a cross which bounced nicely for Cabrera to volley his second.

The Salvadoreans now lost any rhythm they had and Pumas were able to move the ball about at will and create any number of chances. But they had little luck in finishing and also missed some excellent opportunities to increase the score. Cacho hiit the post when it was easier to score, Pineda miss hit going for his second, and Palencia shot straight at the keeper.

The second half continued the same pattern as Tuca made no changes. Chiapas fired over on the hour while Palencia and Cacho also had chances which were pushed away by Gomez in the Firpo goal. There was a lack of urgency from both sides at this point, from Firpo who evidently realised the game was gone, and from Pumas who clearly thought the job was done. There was time, however, for three young "canteranos" (players who have come through the youth set-up) to have a run out, as Luis Rosas, Luis Fuentes and Javier Cortés all saw some action near the end.

The victory puts Pumas top of their qualifying group after Dynamo Houston's draw in Panama against San Francisco. This was Firpo's first match of the group stages.

Goals
David Cabrera (11 minutes) 1-0
Orlando Pineda (35) 2-0
David Cabrera (37) 3-0

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Verón
Firpo: yellow: Alas, Patricio Gómez

Player ratings
Bernal 6 - largely untroubled and added calm to the defence
Verón 6 - not at his best, but never needed to be
González 6 - seems happier when partnered by Verón
Pineda 6 - a decent effort. Got a goal and came forward with purpose
Espinoza 6 - always shows determination and little troubled in defence
Diego 6 - a solid effort
Chiapas 7 - lots of effort and movement
Cabrera 7 - two goals and an enthusiastic display
Íniguez 7 - caused trouble every time he had the ball
Cacho 6 - played ok but not his night
Palencia 6 - works hard, but his shooting is suspect. Where does he get the "gatillero" nickname?
Rosas, Fuentes, Cortés - only on for a little while

Tuca 7 - the selection was right this time and it is hardly his fault that so many chances were missed.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Santos lost 3-1 in a rain storm in Puerto Rico against the Islanders, and Oribe Peralta and coach Daniel Guzman were sent off. Cruz Azul easily saw off the "Monstruo morado" (purple monster) of Deportivo Saprissa 4-0, including a fabulous Torrado goal. Atlante played out a dull 0-0 in Montreal against Impact.

In the Copa Sudamericana San Luis beat Argentinos Juniors 2-1 with goals from Braulio Luna and Tressor Moreno. Chivas played disappointingly in their home leg, managing only a 2-2 draw against an Atlético Paranaense reserve team.

The Mexican national team, with a distinctly strange look without the services of many of their first-choice players, played out a miserable 1-0 defeat to Chile with the goal coming from a Valenzuela own goal. I am amazed that with so many players out this fixture was allowed to be an official international, but Eriksson clearly found out that his first-choice team is significantly better.

Next Up
Pumas travel to Cancún to take on Atlante. Other interesting games are Toluca v Santos amd América v Cruz Azul. Pumas Morelos travel to Coatzacoalcos.

CONCACAF Champions League So Far:- (Brought to you by DT, scroll down the posts to see the links to video highlights of all games)
Preliminary Round First Legs
Preliminary Round Second Legs
Group Stage Matchday One
Group Stage Matchday Two

Game 9: Pumas 0 - 1 San Luis

Video link here.

With a rather limp performance against San Luis in CU, Pumas lost their 100% home record and the leadership of the "Tabla general". There was not much to choose between the teams but the home team lacked cutting edge and San Luis definitely created the better chances.

After the midweek struggle in Panama, Ferretti switched back to the regular line-up with Diego continuing in Leandro's position and Toledo wide right. San Luis started with Tressor Moreno on the bench.

The game began evenly with San Luis containing the wide threat of Morales and Toledo, while Palacios controlled the middle for Pumas, and Castro mopped up in front of him. If the early exchanges were even, San Luis slowly began to build a bit of pressure and Martiínez put in a dangerous cross which was miskicked and then put wide.

After 20 minutes San Luis were ahead. Monjaraz doubled back and put in an angled cross from the right. It was speculative and overhit, but Víctor Piriz backed away from an inattentive Efraín Juárez and headed past Bernal. It was a poor goal to give away - if Juárez had managed just a little more pressure on Piriz he would not have scored. Pumas became nervous and San Luis grew in confidence, despite neither side being able to create significant openings.

There was very little action from either side for the rest of the half as the "Potosinos" played cautiously inviting a Pumas side forward who lacked penetration. In fact a rather distracted Verón nearly let in Martínez during a mix up with Bernal.

"Tuca" needed to make changes, and at half time the ineffectual Diego gave way to Paco Palencia and a change to a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Palencia tucking in behind Cacho and López. Although this meant less of a protective barrier in front of the defence, and one or two shaky moments, it also added to the Pumas attack. First Velarde created a clear chance for Morales who pulled a weak shot straight at the keeper, and then Cacho got through one on one but could not beat veteran goalkeeper Adrián Martínez.

Pumas continued to push forward with more menace, while leaving more space behind, and Bernal did well to push a Coudet header onto the post, after a good cross from Olmedo, and Palacios scrambled the rebound clear. Martín Bravo came on for his league debut in place of Toledo and within ten minutes he had a yellow card to follow his red on Tuesday, needlessly pushing the San Luis goalkeeper. Nevertheless he looked happier and fitter than against San Francisco. In the meantime he missed a fair chance when stumbling before putting his shot wide from the right hand side of the area.

The home team began to run out of steam, and if anything San Luis could have had a second before the end, while both teams had headers go over the bar. Coudet then missed a free header five yards out that would have killed the game. San Luis just about deserved to win, and Pumas need to get back to the more dynamic play they showed against Atlas if they are not to fall away. However they remain top of group 2 and still well placed in the tournament. San Luis meanwhile go back to the top of the general classification.

Goals
Víctor Piríz (19 minutes) 0-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Verón (now suspended for the next game), Diego (for a mindless handball), Bravo, López
San Luis: yellow: Israel Martínez, Adrián Martínez, Salinas

Player Ratings
Bernal 7 - didn't do much wrong and a great save from Coudet
Velarde 7 - looked almost more of a danger down the left than Morales
Verón 5 - well short of his best
Palacios 7 - made up for his more illustrious colleague's poor game
Juárez 5 - still has too many defensive lapses and has cost 40% of Pumas goals this season
Diego 5 - does not do enough as a ball winner
Castro 7 - had to do alot of the work in the middle
Cacho 5 - disappointing after an apparent breakthrough a couple of weeks ago
Morales 6 - tricky but well-marshalled
Chiapas 6 - neat but not particularly penetrating
Toledo 6 - had his moments of menace but not sufficient
López 6 - a sterling effort but did not really get in many goalscoring positions
Palencia 7 - revived the midfield when he came on
Bravo 6 - looks a feisty character but has to learn to control his enthusiasm

Tuca 5 - should have been on the touchline to marshall his troops but after his hissy fit last week was in the stands.

Elsewhere in Mexico
The biggest game of the weekend, Cruz Azul v Santos, turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Entering the final couple of minutes it was headed for a draw 0-0 when Matías Vuoso looked to have fired his second last-minute winner in a week, after good work from Benítez. But deep into injury time Torrado fired in an equaliser when he was left alone on the edge of the area, and the game finished 1-1.

Morelia grabbed a surprising 4-0 win away at Monterrey with Hugo Droguett the star, scoring two and creating the others. Chivas won controversially at home to Jaguares after a dubious penalty decision based on a supposed push on Arellano. Morales converted the kick for the 1-0 victory.

Atlas came back from 2-1 down in Ciudad Juárez to win 4-2 against Indios, Ariel Bogado scoring two. Toluca were lucky to get away with a 1-1 draw in Aguascalientes after referee José Peñalosa disallowed two perfectly good Necaxa goals in the second half. To make matters worse Fernando López and coach Salvador Reyes were both sent off for their protests.

Puebla and Tigres shared the points in a dull 0-0 in the Estadio Cuauhtémoc. Meanwhile América find themselves at the bottom of group 2 after losing at home 2-1 to Atlante for whom ex-tuzo Luis Gabriel Rey and "El Hobbit" Bermudez got the goals. The match between Tecos and Pachuca was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

Group 1: Atlante (16pts); Santos (13); Monterrey (12); Pachuca (8); Puebla (8); Indios (7)
Group 2: Pumas (16); Cruz Azul (15); Tecos (12); Morelia (11); Chivas (10); América (9)
Group 3: San Luis (19); Tigres (14); Atlas (11); Toluca (10); Necaxa (8); Jaguares (8)

Incidentally, the bottom five in the relegation struggle are (from the bottom up) Indios, Puebla, Tecos, Tigres and Necaxa.

The leading goalscorers are Ariel Bogado of Atlas (7), Hugo Rodallega of Necaxa (6) and Héctor Mancilla of Toluca (6).

Next Up
Pumas take on Firpo of El Salvador in CU on Wednesday in game 2 of the CONCACAF Champions Leaue. Cruz Azul host Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica, Atlante travel to Montreal to face Impact and Santos face the Puerto Rico Islanders. In the first leg of the round of sixteen ("octavos de final") of the Copa Sudamericana Chivas host Atlético Paranaense and San Luis are at home to Argentinos Juniors.

Meanwhile Mexico play a friendly against Chile in the US on Wednesday. It is not a FIFA date so no players with European teams or players from any of the above teams are available.

CONCACAF CL Game 1: San Francisco 1 - 1 Pumas

Video here.

In a complicated game played by effectively the Pumas reserve team, the UNAM team managed to gain a point away in Panama, despite playing nearly half the match with nine men. Although they took an early lead, in the end Pumas were hanging on against limited opposition who nevertheless might have stolen the victory.

Few of the university starting line-up had much first team experience, and none started in the last match against Tigres. Palencia, C.H. González and Fernando Espinoza were the most experienced players, with Alex Diego and Jehu Chiapas having had a few first team games. Patiño started in goal ahead of Alejandro Palacios, and Martín Bravo (picture) started his first game for the club after the problems of getting the necessary paperwork out of the Argentinian Federation.

Right from the start Pumas were in command of possession, and it looked as if the Panamanians would rely on pumping in crosses to their tall strikers Pérez and Zapata. Nevertheless there was a lack of cohesion and penetration from the Mexicans, not unsurprisingly since the players will not have played together in this way before.

The start was ideal for Pumas as in the 7th minute they were ahead. A free kick was taken short to Espinoza, and he skipped round one to unleash a shot which took a deflection and ended up going in off the underside of the bar. From here it should have been plain sailing with the amount of ball that the UNAM had at their disposal, but goalkeeper Odin Patiño looked nervous, and Juan Carlos Ramírez looked at sea, with González lacking the height of Palacios to deal with awkward crosses.

San Francisco hit back five minutes before half time with a predictable header which Zapata put away unmarked despite being surrounded by four Pumas defenders. And worse was to follow before the break. Bravo, in his debut game, had looked a little sluggish but vaguely promising when the assistant referee called over Joel Aguilar who was in charge, as a result of Temis Pérez writhing around on the floor. It transpired that the Panamanian had pulled Bravo's hair and he had reacted with an elbow to the chest. The punishment Aguilar decided on was a direct red for the elbow (which was justifiable if a little harsh) and nothing for the hair pulling (which actually caused the incident). Clearly Bravo should not have reacted as he did, but the referee had given little protection to the players and Pérez should have had a caution.

Not long after half time, despite more or less continuing to control possession, Pumas were down to nine. Patiño came out carelessly dragging his foot out, despite the fact there was little danger, and succeeded in felling Pérez and earning the second red of the night. Orlando Pineda came off and Alejandro Palacios took over in goal, and looked a little more secure.

The rest of the match was San Francisco pushing forward but short on ideas, and Palencia remaining the loan striker for Pumas. There were one or two close calls, especially some panicky moments on crosses, but generally the away team held on comfortably to take home a point. San Francisco also had a man sent off (Rivera) towards the end for a second yellow card.

Goals
Fernando Espinoza (7 minutes) 0 - 1
Alberto Zapata (41) 1 - 1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Cabrera, Espinoza, red: Bravo, Patiño
San Francisco: yellow: Ortega, Jiménez, red: Rivera

Player Ratings
Patiño 4 - unconvincing, missed one cross dreadfully, fumbled a couple more and got sent off in a clumsy fashion
Ramírez 5 - looked at sea but settled as the game went on
González 5 - not bad but Pumas needed more direction from a man of his experience
Espinoza 7 - the best player on the field and also got the goal. Dynamic and creative.
Pineda 5 - looked poor in the air and his marking was suspect but showed commitment
Diego 5 - despite a lot of ball was unable to influence the shape of the game
Chiapas 5 - is still being switched around from position to position. He needs to settle
Rosas 6 - could develop into a decent player but the clock is ticking on the return of Iñiguez and later Barrera
Palencia 6 - worked hard, but isolated for much of the game
Bravo 5 - not match fit and a foolish loss of control, despite the provocation, cut his debut short
Palacios, A 5 - steadier than Patiño but that is not saying much
Medina 5 - had little to do but steady a nine-man line-up
Cortés - only came on in the dying seconds

Tuca 5 - no blame can be cast on Tuca for the sendings off, and without them Pumas should have gone on to win. Nevertheless it is questionable to say the least playing a reserve team in an international competition. Wasn't that Miguel España's mistake?

Elsewhere in Mexico
Chivas scraped through unconvincingly to the last 16 of the Copa Sudamericana. Leading 2-1 from the away leg against Aragua, they stumbled to a 1-1 draw at home, Sergio Santana scoring and missing a penalty, and so go forward 3-2 on aggregate.

San Luis also made it to the round of 16, losing 3-2 in Ecuador against Deportivo Quito, but going through by virtue of their 3-1 win in the first leg in San Luis.

Santos picked up three points at home to Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions League, winning 3-2 at home thanks to a late goal from Vuoso. A weak and strangely aligned Cruz Azul team was brushed aside 2-0 by Honduran Champions Marathón.

Atlante looked the most impressive of the Mexican sides in the competition, and won reasonably comfortably with a young side against Olimpia of Honduras, despite the narrow 1-0 scoreline. The goal came in the first half from Arturo Muñoz.

The Mexican Federation has announced that from Game 10 a pink ball will be used in the league, as in previous tournaments, to support Breast Cancer awareness.

Next Up
Pumas entertain ex-leaders San Luis in the Olympic Stadium on Sunday. The pick of the other games is Cruz Azul v Santos. Pumas Morelos don't play this weekend.

Game 8: Tigres 0 - 2 Pumas

See the goals here.

Pumas secured a hard-fought away win in Monterrey against Tigres, and moved to the top of the general table. In a very tight and even game, two goals in stoppage time at the end of the second half claiming the victory for the UNAM.

Pumas started the game with Diego still filling in for Leandro, Toledo down the right wing, and Dante López returning for Palencia up front. Tigres started with ex-Pumas captain Antonio Sancho in midfield, with "Kikín" Fonseca working down the left wing.

The game began with Pumas pushing forward but with little success against a well-organised Tigres defence. Alex Diego managed one long-range effort, but otherwise Tigres were sitting back and looking to counter. However before long they found themselves having to work in attack too as Verón and Palacios had easily snuffed out the counter-attacking threats, and it was then Bernal had to be alert to make a save from Lucas Lobos.

As the first half wore on, Fonseca was getting more joy down the left against Juárez and Tigres had the clearest chances with Blas Pérez looking dangerous down the middle. The Tigres centre-forward wasted a good chance going into the area by diving and looking for the penalty, but referee Roberto García was not fooled and awarded him a yellow card instead. Fonseca and Molina were creating problems for the defense and "Kikín" shot just wide after a poor clearance by Palacios fell to him on the edge of the area.

So Tigres slowly gained a fragile ascendancy towrds the end of the first half, but neither goalkeeper had been seriously troubled throughout the half, and Castro and Sancho had marshalled their troops well.

The second half was a slightly more open affair, with Dante López seeing more action and Marino adding impetus to the Tigres attack. Nevertheless there were still few chances, and Pumas had still not managed to get close to the by-line to put in a dangerous cross, Morales often being forced back inside. Cabrera replaced "El Zurdo" Morales on the hour to look for more success in this area. Meanwhile Toledo had been livelier down the right, forcing ex-Cruz Azul veteran "El Conejo" Pérez into a couple of timely interventions.

The normally dependable Darío Verón almost cost Pumas the first goal when he sent a disastrously short back pass towards Bernal. It was latched onto by Blas Pérez, but as Bernal came out he pushed it past the Pumas 'keeper and Verón had time to race back and atone for his error by clearing.

In a curious incident towards the end of normal time Tigres were awarded a debatable free-kick right on the edge of the area as Verón was deemed to have deliberately handled the ball, despite looking to be pulling his hand away. We have had some controversial, and frankly bad, handball decisions in the Mexican League this year, and maybe it is time FIFA looked to clarify the laws in this repect. Nevertheless the decision was enough to send "El Tuca" Ferretti apoplectic in eye-poppingly deranged manner, and Roberto García finally felt obliged to give the Pumas manager his marching orders.

Nevertheless the game looked as though it was heading for a goalless draw as the teams entered stoppage time. Then a poor headed clearance fell at the feet of Palencia, who had come on for the ineffectual Cacho, and he battled to the by-line before pulling back neatly into the path of Castro, who swept the ball past Pérez from the edge of the box. It was slightly unfair on Tigres, who then gallantly pushed forward to look for the equaliser, but with almost the last kick of the game it was Pumas who doubled their lead. Dante López got to the line on the left, beating his man, and teeing up Palencia inside the penalty area for the second, to send Pumas to the top of the table.

Goals
Israel Castro (90 minutes) 0-1
Juan Francisco Palencia (93) 0-2

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Morales, Verón, red: Ferretti
Tigres: yellow: Blas Pérez

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - has to take some credit for Pumas having the best defensive record in the league.
Juárez 5 - had a lot of trouble with Kikín - this year has been a learning experience
Palacios 6 - solid but a couple of poor clearances
Verón 6 - excellent other than the chance he handed to Pérez on a plate, but redeemed himself
Velarde 6 - no anxieties in defence, but could not get any depth down the left wing
Diego 6 - a solid effort but needs more composure in distribution
Castro 8 - tidy and effective, and a nice goal
Toledo 7 - a generous seven, but the most likely of the midfielders to get in a telling cross
Morales 5 - a disappointing game. Athough well-marshalled he seemed too happy to tuck back inside
Cacho 5 - too static giving the inexperienced Diego little target
López 7 - a quiet first half, but dynamic and a handful in the second half
Cabrera 6 - looked sprightly down the left hand side
Palencia 7 - influential in both goals and looks to be getting better
Espinoza 6 - settled the midfield nicely in the last 20 minutes

Tuca 6 - a well-organised team, but what happened at the handball incident?

Elsewhere in Mexico
Itamar Baptista grabbed two as Jaguares overcame Indios 2-1 in Chiapas. América, who started with an all-Mexican eleven, owed their 2-1 victory in San Luis against the leaders to a late Enrique Esqueda goal. Pachuca crushed Chivas 5-2 in the Estadio Hidalgo and piled more pressure on manager Efraín Flores. Gabriel Caballero scored two for the home side. Atlas achived their first victory in six games overcoming Puebla 2-0 in Guadalajara. Cruz Azul drew one-all with Atlante in Cancún, the goals coming from Lozano (Cruz Azul) and Maldonado.

Ten-man Tecos got a 2-2 draw in Morelia despite Andrés Mendoza's brace for the Monarcas. A tight match in the Bombonera saw Toluca and Monterrey draw 0-0, while Santos and Necaxa managed a goal apiece in Torreón in the late Sunday game.

On Wednesday Mexico struggled to a 2-1 win over Canada in Tuxtla. Goals came from substitute Omar Bravo (Deportivo La Coruña) and captain Rafael Marquez (Barcelona). Victory virtually assures the "Tri" of a place in the six nation play-off for the 3 and a half World Cup places.

Pumas Morelos went down 1-0 in Mérida.

Next Up
Pumas play San Francisco of Panama in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday. On Wednesday Santos take on Municipal of Guatemala, and Cruz Azul travel to Honduras to face Marathon. On Thursday Atlante host Olimpia, also of Honduras, in the same competition.

On Thursday Chivas host the second leg of their Copa Sudamericana preliminary tie against Aragua.

CONCACAF CL: Pumas 3 - 0 Harbour View

Video here.

Pumas duly qualified for the group stages of the CONCACAF Champions League with an unconvincing but unsurprising 3-0 victory at home to Jamaican team Harbour View. Hero and villain was "Paco" Palencia, returning for his first game for a month after an injury sustained in the opening game against Necaxa. After making a mess of a penalty in the first half, he redeemed himself with two second-half goals and a nice pass to Chiapas for the other.

The Pumas line-up was restricted by international fixtures (Darío Verón and Dante López were on duty for Paraguay against Argentina) and injuries (Leandro and Iñiguez, although presumably had he not been injured Leandro would have been in the Mexico squad to face Jamaica). Harbour View also had two players absent because of the Mexico fixture. Alex Diego, David Toledo, Carlos Humberto González and Juan Francisco Palencia stepped in.

Pumas began the game with complete domination of possession, and the Jamaicans, when they had a rare sight of the ball, were immediately put under pressure by Castro who dominated the centre. In the event Harbour View almost immediately fell right back with 8 outfield players behind the ball and Pumas pushed the ball around patiently looking for an opening. The Pumas attack did not look as threatening as last weekend, but there were one or two half chances and shots from distance before Morales burst through the middle and was brought down by a dangerous high foot from goalkeeper Dwayne Miller. The referee had little option but to send Miller off and award a penalty as the ball had struck a post and been cleared.

Curiously, after Cacho had taken such a good penalty on Sunday, and Palencia had been out for weeks, it was the latter who stepped up for the kick. Not unpredictably the ball sailed over the bar against a poor reserve keeper Barret who had come on for Wooley.

Puams continued to push forward against ten men, but only created another couple of opportunities before half time, Palencia making a mess of a Toledo cross, and Morales going close from the edge of the area. Nevertheless the Jamaicans will be happy to have gone in level at the break, particularly considering their lack of possession or ambition.

In the second half the story was the same, despite Luis Rosas coming on for Alex Diego and Jehu Chiapas replacing Morales. Pumas overused the short corner (presumably worried about the height of the Jamaican defenders) but the final delivery was often poor, and as the game went on the away side seemed to grow in confidence, if not in attacking ideas. Luis Rosas put a header over the bar, while Cacho hit the bar with a header from a Toledo cross.

Just as it looked as through it was going to be an awkward last twenty minutes for the home side, Palencia finally made amends for his earler miss. A nice Chiapas cross was completely missed by "Paco" but the rebound fell nicely and he poked it past Barret to give Pumas a 1-0 lead. Curiously this brought about Harbour View's most prductive and aggressive spell of the game, although this did not bring about a meaningful goal attempt.

It was a strange decision to bring on Fernando Espinoza for the more attacking Toledo, but it seemed to work, as the Jamaicans tired, and Pumas grabbed a couple more right at the end to add a flattering note to the scoreline. First Cacho and then Palencia worked a simple chance for Chiapas who tucked it away with 3 or 4 minutes left, and then with almost the last kick of the game Palencia hit a nice shot in from the edge of the box after a pass from Rosas.

Not a great performance from Pumas, but a necessary win, which sees them progress into the group stages where they will face Houston Dynamo (USA), Luis Angel Firpo (El Salvador) and San Francisco (Panama).

More about CONCACAF Champions League & World Cup Quals

Goals
Juan Francisco Palencia (65 minutes) 1-0
Jeho Chiapas (88) 2-0
Palencia 3-0

Cards
Pumas: yellow: González, Rosas
Harbour View: red: Miller

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - really, really had nothing to do
Juárez 7 - comfortable and put in a couple of nice crosses
González 6 - solid performance but silly booking
Palacios 6 - unchallenged in defence but could have done better with a header from a corner
Velarde 6 - still not the player he was this time a year ago but lively nevertheless
Castro 8 - never allowed the Jamaican midfield to settle - the best player on the field
Diego 6 - not overtaxed in midfield but lacked dynamism going forward
Toledo 7 - some lively moments and a couple of good crosses but should be challenging for a regular place
Morales 7 - a handful for the Jamaican team. Was he taken off as a precaution after the penalty incident?
Cacho 6 - a little less effective than last game but service was sporadic and he was swamped by numbers of defenders
Palencia 6 - dreadful penalty miss and some very poor moments, but two good finishes and a nice pass for Chiapas
Rosas 6 - did ok down the right and with Iñiguez out looks to have a chance to make an impression
Chiapas 7 - has been unlucky not to have more opportunities - took his goal well and put in a couple of decent crosses
Espinoza 6 - a tad generous maybe as he was only on a few minutes but looked the part.

Tuca 6 - had a very limited strategy for overcoming very limited opponents

Elsewhere in Mexico


Mexico staged their second World Cup Qualifier, this time against Jamaica, in the Estadio Azteca. The game had been due to be playedi n Jamaica but due to Hurricane Gustav the venue was changed. Luis Pérez took Leandro's spot while the attack was led by the two Premiership youngsters Giovanni Dos Santos of Tottenham, and Carlos Vela of Arsenal.

The team and the supporters were all dressed in white (see photo) as a protest against crime and particularly against kidnapping; the son of leading sports retailer Martí wwas found dead after a ransom had been paid recently, and sparked off a wave of outrage round the country.

In the end it was quite a comfortable victory for the home side, although neither of the forwards got on the scoresheet. Midfielders Andrés Guardado (Deportivo La Coruña) and Fernando Arce (Santos) scored in the first half, while a nice second half effort by defender Johnny Magallon (Chivas) completed the 3-0 scoreline.

Cruz Azul completed their passage to the group stages with another thrashing of Hanook Verdes in the Estadio Las Flores. Their 6-0 win included two from Vigneri.

Pumas Morelos drew 1-1 at home to Cruz Azul Hidalgo. The goal came from Javier Cortés. They are now 2nd in group 3 and 5th overall in Primera A.

Next Up
Pumas play their next league game away at resurgent Tigres. Meanwhile Mexico continue the World Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday in Tuxtla Gutierrez (Chiapas, Mexico) against Canada. Pumas Morelos take on group 3 leaders Mérida in the Yucatán.

Game 7: Pumas 3 - 0 Atlas

Video here.

Pumas put together their most convincing performance of the season so far in CU on Sunday, and maintained their hundred percent record at home in this tournament, while moving to the top of group 2. Juan Carlos Cacho was the star, his confidence obviously enhanced by last week's goal, and he grabbed his first top-flight hatrick, while Atlas will be thankful that at least their next game is against Puebla.

Pumas welcomed back "Pikolín" Palacios to the centre of defence in place of González, but otherwise were unchanged, while Atlas left out Diego Colotto whose agents are in negotiations with Deportivo La Coruña.

The game started slowly with neither side impressing early on but Pumas started to get some joy down the right hand side and Iñiguez began to look dangerous while Castro and Juárez worked industriously to feed him and Dante López made some interesting runs. Atlas meanwhile showed little attacking intent and were finding possession hard to come by. The first chances then fell to Pumas, Iñiguez pulling wide after good work by López, then Cacho going closer from the edge of the box. On the half hour Dante López fed a good ball through to Iñiguez who lashed the ball past Bava, only to see it rebound off the post, while "el Chispa" Velarde was unable to direct his header on the rebound.

After his excellent work down the right, it was a shame to see Iñiguez forced to leave the field through injury, to be replaced by Luis Rosas who has had some good games for Pumas Morelos recently. Almost immediately Pumas had the lead: Hugo Ayala mistimed his lunge on Darío Verón inside the area and Cacho expertly converted the spot kick to make it 1-0. At this point it was a fair reflection of the play, and Atlas made little headway looking to equalise before half time, and if anything Dante López could have grabbed another but Bava closed the angle nicely.

Coming out in the second half Pumas remained positive, and it was especially encouraging to see Morales take up where Iñiguez had left off, with Cacho and López finally building an understanding. It was no surprise then when Pumas extended their lead, but the manner of it was nevertheless impressive: Morales sent a long ball left towards Cacho, and after watching it bounce drove a right-foot volley towards the far corner of the net which Bava although getting a touch, could only palm into the net.

While Pumas seemed happy with the lead, and Atlas were unable to do much about it, the game looked as though it might stagnate. But with fifteen minutes to go a beautiful move down the left by Dante López created space, and his cross was met by Cacho in front of goal for his hatrick. At 3-0 there was nowhere to go for Atlas as they opened up in vain against a solid Pumas defence, and although a couple of goalward efforts were fielded by Bernal, there were few alarms for the home side. There was even time for Leandro to some off for a precautionary rest as Alex Diego made an appearance towrds the end.

Pumas now have four straight home wins and a good foothold in the tournament. The forward line, which has been stuttering so far, this time looked the part, and the defense reamins solid. Meanwhile Atlas, who started the tournament so promisingly after thrashing Jaguares, now need to rethink their season.

Goals
Juan Carlos Cacho (pen) (40 minutes) 1-0
Juan Carlos Cacho (65) 2-0
Juan Carlos Cacho (75) 3-0

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Morales
Atlas: yellow: Valdez, Ayala

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - not much to do but always in the right place when needed
Velarde 6 - really not challenged much, and helped out in attack
Verón 7 - another cool performance
Palacios 6 - adds an extra dimension of pace to the backline and is good in the air
Juárez 6 - a better performance this week under less pressure
Leandro 7- at times looked a class apart, but his inflluence was not really needed against a poor Atlas attack
Castro 7 - instigated a lot down the right side in the first half
Iñiguez 7 - lively first half, pity about the injury
Morales 8 - took over where Iñiguez left off and a constant thorn in the side for Atlas
López 8 - possibly his best game for Pumas - movement and threat, and seems to know where Cacho is now
Cacho 9 - well taken goals and a much improved performance
Rosas 6 - a good performance and deserves to be given more outings
Diego, Cabrera - on for a short time

Tuca 8 - has to take credit for a dynamic Pumas front line and a solid formation. Pumas have had an excellent start at home.

Elsewhere in Mexico
This week there were two games in the league for most clubs. An Edgar Lugo goal was unable to save Cruz Azul from a 2-1 defeat at San Luis in midweek, but despite Rodallega's 6th goal of the tounament they were able to bounce back and beat Necaxa 2-1 with Zeballos and Rivero the scorers. Toluca's poor run continued as they handed a first win to Chivas, 1-0 courtesy of a Dueñas own goal, and they were only able to snatch a 2-2 draw in Guadalajara against 9-man Tecos. Chivas meanwhile managed a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Monarcas, for whom a Romero won-goal had gifted Indios a 1-0 victory in Morelia earlier in the week. Indios continued the good work with a late Malagueño winner in a 2-1 home win aganst Pachuca.

Santos managed a 2-0 win at home to Tecos, thanks to a Benítez brace, but also suffered a 2-0 reverse in Monterrey. This capped a good week for Monterrey after a Suazo goal had given them a 1-0 victory in Aguascalientes against Necaxa. Atlante managed a 1-0 win against San Luis and a 1-0 defeat at Tigres, who also beat América in the Azteca 3-1, with Lucas Lobos grabbing two. After going down 2-0 in Pachuca, Puebla ended up sharing the points with Jaguares 1-1 thanks to a late Eder Pacheco equaliser.

Atlante (12 points) top group 1 from Santos and Monterrey (both 11). Pumas and Cruz Azul (both 13) lead group 2 from Tecos (11), and San Luis are ahead in group 3 (16) from Tigres (13).

Cruz Azul hammered Hanook Verdes of Belize 6-0 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League qualifier.

Next Up
Pumas play Harbour View on Thursday night in the Concacaf Champions League preliminary raound. Mexico take on Jamaica on Saturday in the World Cup qualifying tournament.

Harbour View v Pumas - cancelled

Because of Tropical Storm Gustav the match between Pumas and Harbour View of Kingston, Jamaica was postponed on Thursday as the storm passed over the island. The match was rescheduled for Friday evening, but after making a pitch inspection the authorities declared the surface unplayable.

The tie will now be decided in one match at CU on September 4th at 9pm.

Game 5: Pumas 3 - 1 Pachuca

Video here.

In a fast and open game, not something that can often be said about mathces in CU, Pumas broke their 9-year streak of not defeating Pachuca at home, and moved level with Cruz Azul at the top of group 2. Meanwhile Pachuca are struggling, with only two points from the campaign, and only one goal from their forward line in five matches.

Pumas were again unchanged, Tuca keeping faith in the side that was beaten in Morelia, except for Carlos Humberto Gonzalez stepping in for "Pikolín" Palacios, with Juan Carlos Cacho (picture) facing his old club. Pachuca were still without Bruno Marioni, but fielded the spine of the side that was so successful at the beginning of 2007.

The "tuzos" started the brighter, evidently determined to grab their first win of the season and vindicate their management's decision to sell 10 players from the first team squad in the summer transfer window. But in Pumas's first real attack of note, they took the lead with a fortuitous goal. Efrain Juárez put in a long cross from the left, Fernando Morales backed away from the last defender and headed back into the middle, and the unfortunate Leobardo López confused himself and ended up bundling the ball into his own net.

Pachuca lost their early impetus but Pumas could not pick it up and the game slowed down for a while, but the home side bit by bit wrested the initiative and after a couple of half chances from long shots, Cacho had the ball in the net but was called back for the narrowest, if not inexistant, offside. Finally on 44 minutes Pumas had the lead; Castro swung in a free kick from the right and Carlos Humberto González appeared unmarked to head powerfully towards goal. Although Calero got hands to it, the power on the ball meant that it squirmed over the line for Pumas's second.

In the second half Pachuca upped the tempo and threw things forward, knowing that an early goal might shake things up, but their attacking dynamism left them exposed at the back and good work from López and Morales put in Cacho, who despite getting a bad connection, put the ball past Calero for his first Pumas goal. There then followed a period where Pumas looked like they would run away with the game, López forcing a good save out of Calero, but Pachuca began to hold onto the ball better and create a couple of half-chances of their own. In the end the reward came from a debatable free kick, which "el Chaco" Giménez slammed in on the hour, with Bernal slightly out of position.

Pumas became a bit nervous and Juárez looked very uncomfortable against Alvarez on the Pachuca left side: the winger skipped round the full-back on three occasions, coming close with a shot that just cleared the bar. Meanwhile Bernal had to be alert to push away a long-range chip that nearly caught him out.

Towards the end, however, with a two-goal deficit, Pachuca ran out of steam and Pumas sent on three players from the reserve team for experience, two of whom, David Cabrera and 19 year-old Javier Cortés, were making their debuts. Leandro even managed a fine shot that Calero could only parry, but Cacho put the rebound over. Pumas ended up comfortable winners while Pachuca are now languishing just above Indios at the bottom of the general classification.

Goals
Leobardo López (o.g.) (12 minutes) 1-0
Carlos Humerto González (44) 2-0
Juan Carlos Cacho (47) 3-0
Christian Giménez (59) 3-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Verón
Pachuca: yellow: Cárdenas, Manzur, Álvarez, Pinto

Player Ratings
Bernal 7 - Some great saves, but caught out on the free kick
Velarde 7 - looked completely at ease; now needs to link more with Morales
González 7 - nice header for the goal and sound at the back
Verón 7 - the usual pillar and a couple of nice forays forward
Juárez 5 - looked at sea against Álvarez
Leandro 6 - in control when Pumas were on top, but Pachuca had too many spells of possession
Castro 6 - got involved well and decent cross for the second goal
Iñiguez 7 - a constant threat down the right and came close with a shot from the edge of the box
Morales 7 - looked lively and a good ball to Cacho for the third
López 6 - not his best game so far, but still lively and better understanding with Cacho
Cacho 7 - improving game on game, let's hope there is more to come
Cortés 6 - lively runs while he was on
Rosas and Cabrera - on for a short time

Tuca 7 - let us give him credit for more movement, a great result, and for giving a debut to two young Pumas.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Hugo Rodallega added to his goal tally, and moved to the top of the goalscoring table, with two more for Necaxa as they earned a 2-2 draw in the Estadio 3 de marzo against Tecos. Cruz Azul came from two behind at home to Monterrey to win 3-2, the winner from a Jaime Lozano penalty. Meanwhile an explosive game which San Luis ended with ten men, and Tigres with nine, ended with a 1-0 win for the "Potosinos" after a mistake by "El Conejo" Pérez let in Víctor Piríz for the decisive goal.

The game of the week was undoubtedly in the Jalisco where Chivas entertained Santos. Three times ahead, Chivas could not cope with the force of Vuoso, who scored two, the sending off of Edgar Solís, and the return of Ludueña who needed less than 25 minutes to score after coming on in the second half. The score, an amazing 5-3 to the away side.

Despite continuing defensive problems, Indios de Ciudad Juárez finally gained their first point, coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Toluca. Atlante came from two behind in Cancún to draw against Atlas, despite Maldonado missing a penalty. Again "el Hobbit" Bermúdez was decisive, scoring the equaliser. Puebla finally got a win at the expense of Morelia int he estadio Cuauthémoc, their 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Álvaro González. Despite "el Chango" Moreno scoring his first domestic goal for América, they squandered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to Jaguares, the winner coming from Itamar Batista with three minutes left.

Atlante now top group 1 from Santos, Cruz Azul, Pumas and Tecos all have ten points each at the top of group 2, while San Luis are clear at the top of group 3. In the relegation struggle, Indios are clear bottom, with Tecos, Tigres and Puebla battling above them.

In Primera A, Pumas Morelos defeated Atlante Chetumal 2-0 in Cuernavaca with goals from Salvador Medina and Oscar Rojas. They are now top of group 3, and top of the general table, although they are not eligible for promotion.

Next Up
This week there are midweek league games (Santos v Tecos looks the pick of these), but Pumas's game in Tuxtla against Jaguares will be postponed until November as they travel to Jamaica to play Harbour View in the preliminary phase of the Concacaf Champions League. Next weekend the game is at home against Atlas. Pumas Morelos visit Veracruz.

San Luis play Deportivo Quito on Tuesday and Chivas travel to Aragua Wednesday in the Copa Sudamericana. Cruz Azul play Hankook Verdes in the Concacaf Champions League on Tuesday.

Game 4: Monarcas 1 - 0 Pumas

Video here.

In a curiously unexciting game in the Estadio Morelos, where neither side showed much initiative or flair, Monarcas of Morelia, showing more perseverance towards the end, stole the points in the last minute with a nicely finished goal from Elías Hernández.

Pumas handed back the right back spot to Efrain Juárez, despite Fernando Espinozsa's performance the previous week, but were otherwise unchanged. Morelia surprisingly left out Luis Landín and Ever Guzman.

Pumas had the better of a dull first half, but as before the main danger came from long-range efforts as Cacho dropped deep and he and Lopez looked out of contact with each other and the wingers. Castro and Leandro both had decent shots which went just wide while Lopez had a shot pushed away by Muñoz. Morelia created little danger for their part and most of the game was played in the middle with the Pumas pairing of Leandro and Castro overshadowing the subdued Droguett, whose best moment was when he sliced wide after being put through by Mendoza.

Nevertheless neither side looked much like scoring, the closest being Cacho's strike from the edge of the box which found the upright, while Verón failed to latch onto a Lopez knock on from a Leandro corner. Cacho also had the ball in the net but was pulled back for a narrow offside.

In the second half Morelia came out in more positive fashion, and Pumas appeared content to allow the home side to dictate the play. This approach was fraught with danger despite the imprecision of the Monarcas attack, and the "Purepechas" came close on a number of occasions, Bernal saving well from a Leao Rodríguez free kick and blocking a Droguett effort. Cacho and Lopez were seeing much less ball and Castro and Leandro were sitting close in front of the defense. There looked little prospect of a Pumas goal and Morelia persevered, pushing forward with little threat.

Nevertheless Romero had the ball in the net after a powerful header from a Leao corner, but he was adjudged to have fouled the defender in his jump. It was a close decision and it looked like Pumas had got away with the draw. "Tuca" played his hold-on-for-a-draw card by bringing on Carlos Humberto González near the end, but the Morelia huffing and puffing finally paid dividends in the last minute. Landín who had come on for Droguett controlled the ball on the edge of the area and without looking up fired the ball low across the area. It fell to another substitute, Elías Hernández, completely unmarked and he slotted nicely past Bernal for the win.

The game was stop-start and not helped by some fussy refereeing from Marco Antonio Rodriguez (picture). He made the correct decisions on the disallowed goals but there was no flow to the game, and at least three of his cards were unnecessary or just incorrect.

This was Morelia's first win, but with Tecos and Cruz Azul also doing well the Pumas group is looking ever more complicated. Pumas will have to tighten up the link between midfield and attack, while getting rid of the negative mentality that so often blights the last half-hour in close games. Pumas stay on 7 points, still in touch in group 2.

Goals
Elías Hernández (90 minutes) 1-0

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Leandro, Juárez
Monarcas: yellow: Romero, Trujillo, Cabrera, Hernández

Player Ratings
Bernal 7 - made a couple of crucial second-half stops
Juárez 5 - adds to the team going forward but still naive in defence. He has picked up a yellow on each of his three starts
Palacios 6 - again looks in command but shaky towards the end in the general malaise
Verón 7 - good performance against uninspired attacking
Leandro 6 - good first half but faded
Castro 6 - industrious as ever, but needed to grab the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half
Morales 5 - never got into the game
Iñiguez 5 - like Morales, the lack of width was a serious problem all game
Cacho 6 - is getting better, but he is having to come too deep
López 6 - still our best option up front and nearly sneaked one past Muñoz
C.H.González & Bonells - only on for a couple of minutes.

Tuca 5 - it is nice to have continuity of selection, but dropping Espinoza after his fine showing last week is dispiriting. The wingers need some back up - is there anyone who could do the job while Toledo and Chiapas are recovering from injury?

Elsewhere in Mexico
Jaguares threw away a victory against Atlante in Tuxtla, Itamar Batista missing a penalty and an open goal as well as scoring in the 1-1 draw. América rescued a 1-1 draw against Pachuca despite having a defender sent off for the third game in a row. Pachuca gave a debut to 16 year-old Víctor Mañón. Two-goal Robert de Pinho was the star for Tecos against his old club as they won 4-2 in Monterrey, for whom Ordaz and Baloy were sent off. Israel Martínez grabbed a late winner in the Estadio Jalisco to continue San Luis's fine run and gain a 1-0 victory over Atlas. Toluca came from a goal behind to register their first win of the tournament and ease the pressure on their manager De La Torre. Goals came from Mancilla, Dueñas and Diego De La Torre in a 3-1 victory.

Chivas claimed their third draw of the season in a 2-2 in Aguascalientes against Necaxa. Santos finally achieved their first win, demolishing Indios who now have four straight losses in the top flight. Despite the 3-0 scoreline, Vicente Vuoso missed his second consecutive penalty for Santos after the miss against Pumas in game 2. The final game of week 4 between Tigres and Cruz Azul will be played on November 5th because of Cruz Azul's trip to Europe.

All the groups are close: Atlante top group 1, Tecos group 2 and San Luis group 3 and the general classification. Puebla, Pachuca, Indios and Jaguares have yet to win.

Meanwhile in Primera A, Pumas Morelos went down 2-1 to Jaguares in the Estadio Victor Reyna in Tuxtla. Cristian Zamudio got the goal.

Next Up
Pumas play Pachuca in CU next Sunday. Pumas Morelos host Atlante Chetumal. And look out for Leandro's debut for Mexico in the World Cup qualifier against Honduras in the Estadio Azteca on Wednesday.

Game 3: Pumas 2 - 1 Toluca

See the video here.

An average Pumas performance against an under par Toluca side was resucued in the Olympic Stadium by a gutsy performance by Fernando Espinoza (picture) and a wonderful last-minute strike from Leandro Augusto.

The story all week had been about Leandro, who has had an unfeasible amount of opposition to his call-up to the Mexican national side. Although he did not particularly shine during the game this was completely overshadowed by his 89th minute strike. The game was drifting towards what would have been a fair draw, with Pumas pressing forward but with little conviction when the ball reached Leandro about 25 yards out on the left hand side. Taking a little step forward he struck the ball ferociously and it sped right into the top corner, hitting the inside of the post and nestling in the back of the net. The crowd burst into life, "Como no te voy a querer" rang round the stadium, and Pumas had their second win of the campaign.

All this had seemed far away when Toluca had taken the lead in the 9th minute. A drowsy start from a line-up only changed by the inclusion of Fernando Espinoza for Efrain Juarez allowed Amaury Ponce to float in a wonderful long ball over the central defenders and Héctor Mancilla poked the ball past Bernal with his shin. Throughout a turgid first half the crowd remained quietly optimistic, but although Pumas had possession they created little danger. Cacho was obviously trying hard but coming too deep, and he and Dante Lopez have yet to gel as a striking partnership. The principal threat came from Iñiguez down the right and a couple of long range efforts from Castro. The only other action of the first half was a header apiece from central defenders Da Silva (Toluca) and Verón (Pumas) which went close after set pieces.

In the second half Pumas began to press more, but still without conviction. Nevertheless Fernando Espinoza was having a lively game at right back, and almost unexpectedly he fed Iñiguez, raced into the box and took the winger's low cross first time, thrashing it past Cristante for the equaliser on the hour. Toluca now pulled back even further and both teams made some ineffectual changes. The draw looked the only possible result, until Leandro came up with his "golazo" and silenced a few critics.

In a bizarre incident with about twenty minutes to go, the normally unflappable (and grumpy) Pumas manager Ricardo Ferretti, was sent off for disrespectful behaviour after he showed his understandable contempt for the new Mexican Federation rule that a manager cannot remain out of his seat for more than three minutes. It is difficult to understand the reasoning bejhind this initiative, and "El Tuca" pretended to return to his seat on various occasions before "sneaking" back to the technical area. Young referee Rafael Medina felt himself obliged to send Tuc off, but really the referee ought to be concerned about matters on the field rather than enforcing such a ruling, which could be left to the fourth official for example. In any case Ferretti will be banned from the sidelines next weekend against Morelia.

Goals
Héctor Mancilla (9 minutes) 0-1
Fernando Espinoza (59) 1-1
Leandro Augusto (89) 2-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Verón, Palacios, Leandro; red Ferretti
Toluca: yellow: Almazán, Méndez, M.de la Torre, Ríos

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - really had nothing to do
Espinoza 7 - his return after being dropped was full of enthusiasm and ideas
Palacios 7 - other than the goal completely untroubled
Verón 7 - again assured in the centre of defence
Velarde 6 - didn't get forward much but sound
Leandro 7 - great goal but below his high standards in the first half
Castro 7 - the only player to look good in the first half
Iñiguez 6 - kept trying and good pull back for the first goal
Morales 6 - one or two sparks but is inconsistent
Cacho 5 - it still isn't working for a player who is a team man
Lopez 6 - made some good runs but still not connected with his teammates
Toledo, Juárez, Bonells - little time to make an impression

Tuca 6 - an unimpressive performance but a good result and he is right about the Federation's rule.

Elsewhere in Mexico
A Joaquín Beltrán goal in the 5th minute set Cruz Azul on their way to a 2-0 win in the Azul against Tecos, despite a rather lacklustre performance. Two goals from Israel Martínez gave an impressive San Luis a 2-0 win over Jaguares and sent them to the top of the table. Meanwhile Indios de Ciudad Juárez suffered their third consecutive defeat falling 3-2 at home to Necaxa. Colombian Hugo Rodallega scored two for Necaxa.

Chivas continued their unsteady start to the season drawing unimpressively 1-1 at home to Monterrey, and having to rely on a controversial penalty retake for their goal. Former Pumas favourite Kikín Fonseca finally broke his year-long goal drought and also delivered a scoring pass as Tigres overcame Atlas 3-0, while diminuitive midfielder "EL Hobbit" Bermúdez had a similar influence for Atlante who overcame Pachuca 2-1 in Cancún. Santos and Puebla are still yet to win after sharing a 0-0 draw in the Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Jorge Estrada was sent off late on for Santos. Ismael Rodríguez had threatened to leave América if he did not get more game time, and he got his wish on Sunday in the Estadio Azteca against Morelia. Unfortunately after Enrique Esqueda had put América ahead Rodríguez gave away the penalty for the equaliser and got himself sent off for complaining about the decision; this could make it easier for Ramon Díaz to leave him out next time.

Pumas Morelos continued their good start to the season as a Luis Rosas goal in the first half was enough to beat Atletico Mexiquense 1-0 in the Estadio Cententario.

Next Up
Late Sunday kick off in Morelia against Monarcas. Pumas Morelos are away to Jaguares.

Game 2: Santos 1 - 1 Pumas

Pumas struggled to a valuable point against the current champions Santos in the Estadio Corona in Torreon, Coahuila. The "Laguneros" controlled most of the game, but a resolute Pumas defence, and some fine goalkeeping by Sergio Bernal (picture) were able to limit their opportunities and hold out for the draw.

The big news of the week had been Leandro Augusto´s call up to Sven Goran Eriksson´s first squad selection, and a lot of column inches were written about his inclusion, with regrettably some players complaining that other "equally" good players should be selected if they were born in Mexico. It seems they are suggesting that there are two classes of Mexican citizens, yet in some ways a naturalised Mexican is if anything more committed to his "Mexicanness", since he has chosen it, not acquired it through an accident of birth. The other argument was that if Leandro was selected, then so should be Argentinian-born Matias Vuoso of Santos.

Such was the talk as the game got under way. Palencia was still out injured and Bravo's papers are still not in order (more effort needs to be made on that score, including a note to FIFA) so Tuca kept faith in Dante Lopez and Juan Carlos Cacho up front with Pablo Bonells as back up on the bench. Otherwise the team was the same as in the opening game, while Santos rested Walter Jimenez and remain without two of their main attacking weapons, Benitez and Luduena. Matias Vuoso was out to prove himself after being left out of the Mexican squad earlier in the week.

Right from the start Santos were the more dynamic unit, controlling the midfield, with Morales and Iniguez having to drop too deep and Palacios and Veron having difficulty controlling movements forward. As early as the 9th minute, in fact, Rodriguez clipped the bar from a free kick. While struggling to have any significant hold on the ball, nevertheless the centre of defence looked firm, although Vuoso alternatively tested out the young Pumas full-backs. Santos began to become a little frustrated despite some excellent movement from Castillo and Arce, and it was then that Pumas could create some danger of their own, both Lopez and Castro going close with long-range efforts, Oswaldo Sanchez having to be lively.

After the drinks break (after half an hour) Santos continued to press and nearly took the lead as Ortiz headed nicely towards the top corner, but Bernal was able to throw himself high and right to push away for the corner. And just as it looked as if the teams would be going in level, some excellent play by Leandro and Dante Lopez brought the goal. Leandro skipped down the left and put in a low cross which Lopez controlled by pushing it past the last defender and then beating Sanchez to poke the ball into the net.

Despite some nervous moments Pumas arrived at half time ahead and as the second half progressed in a much more even manner, a Cacho break out nearly fed in Lopez, but Sanchez made an excellent save. Daniel Guzman the Santos coach then introduced Walter Jimenez for Mares. He had a dynamic impact and Pumas again began to struggle in the middle and the Pumas team became compressed at the back with little route forward towards a lively Dante Lopez, and an increasingly frustrated Cacho.

Despite their almost complete domination of the ball, Santos were still finding clear chances difficult to create and the equaliser came in slightly fortuitous circumstances. A poor shot across the face of the goal from just inside the area by Vuoso, fell very neatly to Torres evading the Pumas defenders and Bernal had no chance. In a mad moment almost immediately afterwards Pumas were nearly behind. Veron was adjudged to have fouled Castillo in the area, and although replays were at best inconclusive (Veron appeared to take the ball fairly cleanly) Vuoso stepped up for the spot kick. His effort however was anticipated beautifully by Bernal who dived low to his left to push the ball for a corner.

Tuca had seen enough and brought off Morales to play a five-man defence with Carlos Humberto Gonzalez. Santos continued to push forward but space was more limited and chances few. Lopez had a reasonable effort from the edge of the area which unfortunately went straight at Oswaldo Sanchez, while in the last minute Bernal was similarly able to cling on to a "Lorito" Jimenez effort which looked like it was going to grab the points for the home team.

So a somewhat scrappy point for Pumas, away to the champions and best team of the past year (this is the second successive season that Pumas have played the champions in the second game). They are now in 3rd place in group two behind Tecos and Cruz Azul, while Santos are still waiting for their first win.

Goals
Dante Lopez (38th minute) 0-1
Francisco Torres (68) 1-1

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Juarez, Veron
Santos: yellow: Figueroa, Estrada

Player Ratings
Bernal 8 - definitely the key figure for Pumas, some great saves including the penalty
Velarde 6 - struggled against Vuoso and an arm injury
Juarez 6 - agan did well coping, albeit with some difficulty, with the pace of Vuoso and Arce
Veron 7 - an excellent first half and unlucky to give away the penalty
Palacios 7 - as solid as last week and the centre of defence was tight
Leandro 6 - created the goal, but did not do enough to control the ball in the middle
Castro 5 - unfortunatley too anonymous
Iniguez 7 - got to the byline a couple of times and was the main threat in the first half
Morales 6 - his level dropped from last week, but to be fair he had little service and had to come deep
Lopez 7 - got into good positions and looked sharper than last week, but often had to come deep
Cacho 6 - looked isolated and too often turned into trouble, but there is definitely more to come. He clearly looked upset at making way for Bonells.
Toledo 5 - did very little
C.H. Gonzalez 6 - solidified the centre of defence and allowed the other two to cover more ground
Bonells 6 - looked livelier than he did for Pumas Morelos last week

Tuca 7 - rather negative at the end but the defensive structure is right. The only problem was a poor day at the office for Castro and Leandro. The team also needs to learn how to cope better with the opposition pressuring high up the field.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Both Mexican teams crashed out of the Superliga to MLS teams in the semi-finals. Defending champions Pchuca lost 2-0 to Houston while Atlante went down 1-0 to New England Revolution, and then managed to get 5 players sent off, four after the ninety minutes was up.

In the Mexican League, Chivas continued their mediocre start losing 1-0 against 10-man Tecos as well as suffering an injury to Omar Arellano. Alcantar got the goal that sees them top the "Group of Death". A fine performance by ex-Puma favourite "Kikin" Fonseca condemned Jaguares to their second comprehensive defeat as two goals by Blas Perez contributed to a 3-1 win for Tigres in Tuxtla. Indios de Ciudad de Juarez were yet again unable to open their top flight account after going down 2-0 in Monterrey. A well taken individual goal from Carlos Ochoa was enough to send Monterrey on their way, and an unlucky second half own goal sealed the Indios fate.

Pahuca´s indifferent start continues as San Luis came from behind late on to win 3-2 in the Estadio Hidalgo, Jairo Patino grabbing the winner five minutes from time. Meanwhile in an exciting game in the Jalisco, Atlas lost a 2-1 lead to go down 4-2 to Cruz Azul. A magnificent overhead kick by Mauricio Romero had given Atlas the lead, but they fell apart after Botinelli was sent off for a second yellow and Riveros and Vigneri put the icing on the cake for the "cementeros". In the last Saturday game Necaxa and Puebla played out a forgettable 0-0 in Aguascalientes.

In a scrappy game in Morelia, Monarcas were unable to grind out a win against Atlante, and the game finished 0-0. In the Bombonera, Toluca and America put on an exciting show, the "Diablos Rojos" going two up after 10 minutes then hanging on for the rest of the game while America knocked impotently at the door, managing only a goal from Cabanas when his cross floated past Cristante. Marco Antonio Rodriguez also managed to notch up his regulation two sendings-off before the end.

Monterrey top Group 1 from Atlante, both teams on 4 points. Group 2 sees Tecos ahead of Cruz Azul and Pumas, while Tigres and San Luis now top Group 3.

Pumas Morelos claimed a fine 3-2 away win against Lobos BUAP, with goals from Aguilar, Cortes and Rosas.

Next Up
Pumas play at home to Toluca on Sunday, while Pumas Morelos receive Atletico Mexiquense.

Game 1: Pumas 2 - 0 Necaxa

Video here.
After a troubled summer, with the Mexicanisation philosophy central, Pumas but their troubles behind them with a solid start to the campaign, overcoming Necaxa in a vibrant University Stadium. Pumas´s woes had been compounded pre-season with the cruciate ligament injury to Pablo Barrera which will keep him out of the whole tournament. Along with the departures of another three forward players, Argentinians Esteban Solari, Ignacio Scocco and Rubens Sambueza, who was foolishly allowed to return to River Plate, the cupboard was looking bare with regard to goalscorers. Sure enough we had Iniguez, Palencia and new purchase Juan Carlos Cacho, but it was immediatley felt that reinforcements were required.

The management had backed themselves into a corner rather with their Mexican-only policy, and so they were forced to back down. Only would they be able to find anyone so late in the transfer season? As it happened they were able to get hold of two new players, both from South America, the first Paraguayan Dante Lopez (picture) and the second Argentinian youngster Martin Bravo.

The latter´s papers had not come through for the start of the season, and so Palencia and Cacho started up front with Lopez on the bench. Meanwhile Fernando Morales got a start on the left wing with Efrain Juarez, ex-under 17 World Champion, coming in for his debut at right back.

Right from the off Pumas were in control inspite of the return of Walter Gaitan for the team from Aguascalientes. Gerardo Galindo the midfielder from the double-championship season for Pumas also started in the middle for Necaxa, and received a good reception from the crowd. But it was Leandro Augusto, and Velarde and Morales down the left who were causing most trouble. Leandro made a number of excellent runs that went unheeded by colleagues, and the front players only looked as if they had a nodding acquaintance.

This lack of understanding up front was compounded by the departure of Palencia through injury after only 10 minutes, forcing Ferretti to bring on Dante Lopez for his Pumas debut. He and Cacho struggled to create an understanding, and more often than not got in each other´s way. Nevertheless the Pumas defence was in excellent form, with Veron imperious and Palacios composed, while Juarez gave a good account of himself in his first game. This all led to a rather drab first half where the home team dominated but lacked the punch up front to create any serious danger. The nearest Pumas came to scoring was when a Veron header was directed straight at Ortiz in the Necaxa goal.

A similar period at the beginning of the second half brought two changes from Necaxa on the hour, with danger man Bizcayazu coming on. It seemed to galvanize the "Hidrocalidos" as Rodallega went close with a header. But just as it seemed the away team might get the upper hand Pumas took the lead: Iniguez controlled a through ball from Cacho nicely after excellent work from Lopez and Morales and hit it firmly past "el gato" Ortiz. The diminuitive right-winger had been relatively quiet until then, but took the goal nicely and forced Necaxa even more onto the offensive.

Bernal coped well with a couple of shots from distance, but as Necaxa were pushing forward they suffered the sucker punch and a lovely break out from Morales (who had earlier wasted a similar opportunity) led to him feeding Lopez who shot home for his debut goal from the edge of the area. With only five minutes to go there was no way back, and the Pumas fans rejoiced at finally getting off to a good start in a tournament.

The team still looks a little short of time together. Cacho looked short of fitness although he had one or two nice touches, while Dante Lopez tried hard and took his goal well. We shall have to see whether this line-up can cope with better teams than Necaxa, although the Leandro-Castro axis looks extremely sound.

Meanwhile the club made a mess of ticketing arrangements at the ground and many fans were forced to pay resale prices for tickets as the ticket offices were swamped. It should be simple - limit sales to one ticket per person, rather than the five at present. Similarly a laudable anti-AIDs campaign was stymied when all the free condoms given out to fans before the game were confiscated by security and thrown in the bin. We shoudn´t be surprised...

Goals
Iniguez (67 minutes) 1-0
Lopez (85) 2-0

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Cacho, Morales, Juarez
Necaxa: yellow: Quatrocchi, Marvin de la Cruz, de Nigris

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - did nothing wrong but loathe to mark highly a player who had so little to do
Juarez 6 - a sound debut, got pulled out of position a couple of times but looked lively going forward
Palacios 7 - exuded calm
Veron 7 - unruffled and moved out of defence well
Velarde 7 - shackled Rodallega well down the right
Leandro 7 - controlled midfield
Castro 6 - sound start, and Leandro felt confidence to get forward
Morales 8 - excellent start and caused trouble down the left. Good pass for second goal
Iniguez 6 - quiet but did score nicely
Cacho 5 - disappointing but there will be better days
Palencia 5 - looked lively before his injury, but as yet no understanding with Cacho
Lopez 6 - put himself about and not so out of shape as it was claimed
Chiapas & Toledo - just came on at the end

Elsewhere in Mexico
I am loathe to mention the Interliga, as it is clearly just a money-making and profile-raising exercise, and has still to be concluded although the Mexican season has started. Nevertheless a controversial group stage saw Atlante qualify along with Dynamo Houston for the semi-finals from group 1 (Chivas were aggrieved since they went out with the same points and a better goal difference to Atlante - maybe they should have read the rule book). In group 2 New England Revolution and Pachuca overcame Chivas USA and a disappointing Santos. The semi-finals are this week.

Meanwhile in the league, the big game on Saturday was Cruz Azul v Chivas in the Estadio Azul. In an exciting fixture debutant goalkeeper Sergio Rodriguez saved an early penalty, while all the goals were scored by players whose futures were uncertain during the summer. Indeed ex-Puma Gonzalo Pineda was considered an Atlante player for a day! In the end a late Pablo Zeballos header salvaged a point for the home team in a thrilling 2-2.

An injury-time penalty by Coudet saved a point for San Luis in a 2-2 draw against Morelia, while Indios de Ciudad Juarez were unable to open their account in their first game in the top flight against Tecos, going down 1-0 to a Poney Ruiz header. Tigres opened their quest for top league survival with a 0-0 home draw to Pachuca, and Atlante came from behind to edge past Toluca 2-1 in Cancun, with Alan Zamora grabbing the winner.

A Jaguares team suffering from several suspensions was soundly beaten in Guadalajara, the 5-0 win for the "zorros" (foxes) including excellent contributions from their three overseas signings, Argentinian Dario Bottinelli (2 assists), Uruguayan Gonzalo Vargas (2 goals) and Paraguayan Ariel Bogado (also 2 goals). Adolfo Bautista was also sent off for Jaguares.

On Sunday Puebla and Monterrey shared a scrappy 2-2 draw in the Estadio Cuauhtemoc, the highlight a spectacular free kick from Luis Perez. America also got off to a solid start despite almost throwing away a 3-0 lead in the last five minutes against Santos. Federico Insua opened the scoring for the home side and Salvador Cabanas inevitably poached two, but a late flurry, including a spectacular free-kick from Juan Pablo Rodriguez saw America having to hold on to the points at the end.

Atlante head group 1 as the only winners in that group. Pumas head the "group of death" from America and Tecos on goal difference. Meanwhile Atlas´s big win sees them top group 3.

In Primera A Pumas Morelos had a sound 2-0 win over Coatzacoalcos in the Estadio Centenario, with goals from Orlando Pineda and Oscar Rojas. It was their first game of the tournament as they rested in game one.

Next Up
Pumas travel to Torreon to take on champions Santos on Sunday afternoon, while Pumas Morelos take on Lobos BUAP. The Superliga semi-finals also pit Dynamo Houston against Pachuca on Tuesday and Atlante against New England on Wednesday.

Preseason in Cancún

Pumas wound up their sea-level training in Cancún with a 2-0 victory over Atlante in front of a 10,000 crowd at the Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo. Leandro Augusto in the first half and youngster David Cabrera in the second half got the goals, both from headers. The team now return to Mexico City to finalise their preparations for the Apertura tournament.

Meanwhile Mario Trejo (picture) continues to make pronouncements about the "Mexicanisation" of the Pumas first team. While the encouragement of younger players is officially the reasoning behind this policy it is interesting to read between the lines. This is what the Sporting Director of Pumas had to say:

"We want you to understand that in contracting fewer players we are giving more chances to our young players, with the responsibility not to fall into the same mistakes as on other occasions, when because of being champions in the first tournament you make expensive investments."

"Filling up our quota of foreigners and bringing in so many players from abroad does not mean that championships will be won in this way. It has to be done by refining and making a success of the process of bringing on the university player, in our case."

Once this process is done then according to Trejo Pumas can be champions "along with rediscovering our mystique, along with our efforts to achieve Mexicanization, brought about through the process of players coming up from the youth ranks, and the purchase of others such as Juan Carlos Cacho."

"We need to start by looking to be competitive and if we are champions then better still, but we have to make room for Mexican players, and as a club to imbue ourselves with that philosophy, that essence, but this takes time."

"The decision to buy players we brought in (foreign players) was hotly disputed, and we were asked who is Esteban Solari, who is Scocco who is Rubens Sambueza" but "with time people realised their skills, what they could and should do, and for this reason they were brought in. But it is difficult to always be working with a millstone round your neck, if they are Mexican because they are Mexican, and if they are foreigners, because they are foreigners."

This all seems pretty muddy thinking to me, but thankfully it seems not to be a pure marketing decision, even if its nationalism falls little short of racism.

Later in the week Trejo clarified further, saying that although Guillermo Vásquez the assistant coach was in South America looking for an addition to the squad, he would prefer that they did not get anyone.

Trejo again: "For my part it seems that at the moment we haven't found anyone right. Yes there are good players, obviously, fortunately there are always good players, abroad and in our country, but what is happening as I see it is that bringing another player from abroad is going to delay the emergence of our own players."

"The second reason that I see for believing that it is not a good time to bring in a foreign player is price. Because when they realise and when you promote yourself from inside your club, or you declare you are going to go for a player, we all know what happens, because everyone approaches you, sends you hundreds of videos. They all cost three million (dollars) or more, and it seems to me that we shouldn't let ourselves be dragged into this type of situation, this kind of game, out of respect for our institution, and especially because of our philosophy that we've had for giving our young players a chance."

Nevertheless Guillermo Vásquez will submit a report on his South American findings to, in Trejo's words "to confirm or not whether I'm telling the truth" but there seems little likelihood of a change of heart from the sporting director: "I still maintain my opinions" he concluded. The only chance of a change of policy comes from the Technical Committee or from Club President Víctor Mahbub.

I am still uncertain how much support Trejo has from the grass roots for this policy, but it is definitely true that some of our most exciting and reliable players have been non-Mexican. One thinks of Dario Verón, Leandro Augusto, Joaquin Botero, Ailton Da Silva, as well as legends such as Ferretti himself. There have also been dreadful foreign purchases such as Agustín Delgado but there have also been poor Mexican purchases such as Raul Salinas, Cesareo Victorino and Gerardo Espinoza. At the end of the day the quality and loyalty of the players has nothing to do with their place of birth, and the development of Pumas' youngsters is enhanced not damaged by contact with players of excellence, wherever they are from.

Elsewhere in Mexico
The Mexican national team redeemed themselves with a convincing 7-0 defeat of Belize in Monterrey to advance to the group stages of World Cup qualifying, with a brace each from the ever-improving Fernando Arce, and leading all-time scorer Jared Borgetti. In the first group stage they will face the might of Canada, Jamaica and Honduras. The games begin on 20th August.

Meanwhile LDUQ, América's conquerors in the Copa Libertadores, took a 4-2 lead in the first leg of the final in Quito. The return leg in the Maracaná in Rio is this Wednesday.

Transfer News

It is seeming more and more that the Pumas team will have a different look about it next season. Notwithstanding Mario Trejo´s declarations about "Mexicanising" the first team, the changes have come thick and fast this week.

Firstly it was confirmed that Ignacio Scocco is to leave to join AEK Athens for a fee of around 1.5 million euros. While Pumas were keen for him to stay, the player clearly had ambitions to play in Europe, and it is the right move for the University club to allow players to move on when the opportunity presents itself. This will encourage more young players to come to Pumas.

Scocco Record with Pumas (2006-2008), played 74, scored 28, although curiously he only played 21 full games.

Eseban Solari, the other half of the Argentinian striking partnership also announced he would be leaving to play for Spanish club Almeria, who finished eighth in Spain last season. It is a big step up for quite a one-dimensional player, but nevertheless it is a great opportunity and you have to wish him well.

Solari's Pumas record (2007-2008), played 40 (all full games), scored 25.

Losing two strikers in the space of a week left Pumas with problems up front, but they were very quick to pouch a replacement to be a likely partner for Paco Palencia when the new season starts. The signing of Juan Carlos Cacho (picture) from Pachuca is a decent move: the player was an important part of the succesful Pachuca team of 2007 scoring three goals against America in the final of Clausura 2007, and 19 over the year, also earning a call-up to the national side. In recent times Pachuca have relied more on Luis Gabriel Rey (who ironically has also been transferred to Atlante) and recently signed Bruno Marioni, so maybe he was looking for more opportunities.

I still think that Pumas need to contract another striker for the new season, as well as clinching a deal on Sambueza, particularly as Chivas have made a move for Pablo Barrera, who has said he would like to move to the Guadalajara club. Meanwhile there is no news on Israel Castro; if he were to go then presumably Jehu Chiapas or Efrain Juarez would step up.

The fixtures are now out for the new season, and Pumas open their campaign against Necaxa in CU on 27th July, followed by a trip to champions Santos the following week.

Elsewhere in Mexico

The Mexican National team stumbled to an unconvincing 2-0 win against Belize in the first half of their World Cup qualifier in Houston. Carlos Vela grabbed the first bundling in the rebound from a Luis Perez free kick, while Borgetti added the second late on from the penalty spot. The midfield still needs a rethink, with both Perez and Sinha being too small to be partnered in the middle, while Torrado is clearly past his best. Fernando Arce, however seems to have cemented his place after a couple of decent displays in the last two games.

Next Up

The return leg Mexico-Belize will be played in Monterrey on Saturday evening.

Latest News

Speculation continues about the futures of Ignacio Scocco, Israel Castro and Rubens Sambueza, and whther they will be with Pumas for the next tournament.

Scocco, it seems, looks likely to stay at Pumas at least until Christmas when he will be out of contract, as the asking price of 3 million dollars is putting off a number of potential suitors. This seems to be poor business by Pumas, since once he is out of contract they will not recieve a penny for any potential move.

Castro's move is also doubtful as Pumas have given a time limit of Friday for a definite offer to be made, and although Castro is keeping quiet, there clearly has been some interest and it would be good for him personally to further his career in Europe. He has stated, however, that if he does not go to Europe he will stay with Pumas.

Meanwhile the club has put the purchase of Rubens Sambueza from River Plate on the back-burner, curiously claiming that there were "other priorities". This seems very unfair on the best outfield player of the last tournament who is keen to stay at Pumas but who is seeing the board of the club prevaricate about his future. Other Mexican options could also arise for Sambueza and Pumas would lose a great talent.

Pumas head off for "beach training" in Cancún this Sunday. Castro may join them if there is no resolution of his transfer possibilities. Cancún appears to be a popular destination, Tigres also arriving in Quintana Roo this week.

Pumas also discovered who they will be playing in the preliminary round of the CONCACAF champions league in August. They are paired against Harbour View of Jamaica, with the second leg to be played in CU. A win will take them through to the group stage which has yet to be drawn. Incidentally Cruz Azul play Hankook Verders of Belize, while Atlante and Santos go through to the group stage automatically.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Mexico gained some measure of consolation after their defeat against Argentina by crushing a poor Peru team 4-0 in Chicago. All the goals came in the first half, from Fernando Arce (2), Andrés Guardado and Carlos Vela. Following the game goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez was arrested after an incident at the team hotel. He was detained for a breach of the peace after the group he was with failed to turn down their music during early-hour celebrations. Sánchez claimed he had done nothing wrong, and was only acting as spokesman for a number of players, while he also said he had gone out for a meal earlier that evening with his wife "to celebrate the championship (for Santos)" and had only drunk half a bottle of wine. Over-zealous policing or celebrity arrogance? We shall probably never know.

The draw was made this week for the fairly pointless "Superliga" tournament, to take place pre-season between Mexican and US clubs. The Mexican clubs taking part are Pachuca and Santos who face New England Revolution and Chivas USA. The other group consists of Atlante, Chivas, DC United and Houston Dynamo. Games begin on the 12th July.

Next Up
The European Championship is not the only meaningful football taking place this week. Mexico begin their Concacaf qualifiying campaign with an away game against Belize (although being played in the US for financial reasons) on Sunday afternoon.