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.