February 15, 2010 MEXICAN LEAGUE CLAUSURA Match Day 5 roundup
QUERETARO 1, JAGUARES 0
Hector Altamirano scored in the 82nd minute to give Queretaro a 1-0 victory over hapless Jaguares Saturday at Estadio Victor Manuel Reyna.
Queretaro are second in Group 1 with 10 points (3-1-1), while Jaguares, whose home winless streak now stands at 15 games, trail Group 2 at 0-2-3.
SANTOS LAGUNA 1, TOLUCA 0
Santos Laguna extended Toluca’s season-opening winless streak to five games with Saturday’s 1-0 home victory at Estadio Corona.
Oribe Peralta’s 72nd-minute goal delivered the win to Santos, who top Group 3 at 3-1-1. Toluca are fifth in Group 2 with only three points (0-3-2).
CHIVAS 2, ATLANTE 0
The hottest striker in the Bicentenario, Javier Hernandez, scored in the second minute to help Chivas de Guadalajara (5-0-0) extend its season-opening win streak to a club-record five games Saturday at Estadio Jalisco. The Goats finished with a 2-0 win over lowly Atlante (0-2-3).
Hernandez has scored in every game this season. Saturday’s game-winner, off Bofo Bautista’s free kick, was his league-leading eighth goal since opening day. Alberto Medina delivered the coup de grace to atlante just three minutes after Hernandez’s strike.
Solid goalkeeping by Luis Michel and a bit of luck, when Rafael Marquez and Arturo Munoz both missed the target on point-blank chances, preserved the historic win.
MORELIA 3, ATLAS 0
Morelia cruised to their fourth win of the Bicententario on Saturday, blanking Atlas 3-0 at Estadio Morelos.
Christian Emmanuel Sanchez opened the scoring in the 21st minute. Miguel Sabah doubled Morelia’s lead in the 42nd, and Jared Borgetti added another insurance tally in the 89th.
Atlas (3-0-2), who could have taken over second place in Group 2 from upstart Queretaro with a win, will play their next game without defender Fabricio Fabio Fuentes, who was cautioned for rough play in the 89th minute, then ejected for dissent seconds later.
Monarcos (4-0-1) are tied with Pachuca at the top of Group 2, with 12 points.
SAN LUIS 1, INDIOS 1
Indios (0-2-3) might not have scored a goal, but they did the next best thing, earning their second point of the Bicententario with a 1-1 road draw against San Luis (1-1-3) Saturday at Estadio Alfonso Lastras Ramirez.
The home team gifted their group 1 rivals a rare 1-0 lead in the 16th minute, when San Luis defender Oscar Mascorro put the ball into his own net. Indios’ hopes for their first win were dashed in the 75th, when Victor Hugo Lojero put the ball past netminder Christian Martinez to level the score.
Both teams finished the chippy contest shorthanded. Indios lost Emile Jose Martinez to a red card in the 26th minute. He was followed off the field by San Luis’ Cesar Eduardo Gonzalez, who collected his second yellow card in the 44th. Arturo Alvarado’s 88th-minute ejection left Indios with nine men on the field, but San Luis could not come up with a game-winner.
PUMAS 1, ESTUDIANTES 1
Group 3 rivals Pumas and Estudiantes traded goals on their way to a 1-1 draw Sunday at Estadio Olimpico Universitario.
Pablo Edson Barrera put Pumas on the board first, in the 16th minute. He has scored four of UNAM’s five goals this season.
Rubens Oscar Sambueza leveled things for shorthanded UAG – who lost Fredy Bareiro to a red card in the 23rd minute -- seconds before halftime.
Pumas remain unbeaten in the Bicentenario, and are second in the group at 1-4-0. Estudiantes are in fourth place at 1-1-3.
PACHUCA 5, PUEBLA 3
Ulises Mendivil led the way with two goals as Group 2 leaders Pachuca (4-0-1) outlasted stubborn Puebla 5-3 Sunday at Estadio Cuauhtemoc.
Jose Francisco Torres snapped a 3-3 deadlock in the 84th minute, and Dario Cvitanic added an insurance tally in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Puebla (1-1-3) seized the early advantage with Alvaro Fabian Gonzalez’s 25th-minute goal. Mendivil equalized barely a minute later, and Damial Ariel Alvarez tilted the seesaw Pachuca’s way in the 32nd. Carlos Ruiz kept Puebla in the game, slotting the 2-2 equalizer in the 44th minute.
Jose Palau gave Puebla their final lead of the match, 3-2, in the 58th minute, but once again the advantage was short-lived. Mendivil did the honors once again, knotting the score in the 63rd.
AMERICA 2, CRUZ AZUL 0
Club America (3-0-2) took advantage of crosstown rivals Cruz Azul (1-1-3) early on Sunday and never let up, delighting their home fans with a 2-0 win at Estadio Azteca.
Pavel Pardo scored the game-winner off a ninth-minute free kick. Chilean Jean Beausejour doubled the lead in the 52nd.
Despite their solid record, America is only fourth in the highly competitive Group 2 with nine points. Cruz Azul has yet to gel since heavily retooling their lineup in the offseason, and are tied for fourth in Group 3 with a meager four points.
MONTERREY 2, TIGRES 1
Monterrey ran up an early 2-0 lead, and held on to defeat rival Tigres 2-1 Sunday at Estadio Tecnologico.
Aldo di Nigris corralled a loose ball and put the Rayados on the board in the 23rd minute, then set up Neri Cardozo’s game-winner in the 39th. Jesus Antonio Molina made it a one-goal game with a flashy diving header in the opening seconds of the second half, but Tigres’ comeback stopped there.
The Rayados (3-1-1) are third in Group 2 with ten points, while Tigres are third in Group 3 at 1-2-2 (5 pts).
