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.