Mexican Primera, 2011 Clausura Round 1: Live Match Coverage, Chivas, Pumas In Action Early, America-Pachuca The Night Cap

Cruz Azul stayed the course in the second half of their match against Estudiantes Tecos during the first three fixtures of Saturday’s Mexican Primera schedule, but the other games were apparently not as they seemed at halftime, with Tigres and San Luis flipping the scripts of their matches.

Estudiantes Tecos, quite possibly the worst team in Mexico, predictably fell 4-1 to Cruz Azul at Estadio Azul. Their terrible defense offered very little opposition and the hosts let up on the gas a bit in the second half. Still, the Blue Machine added to their 3-1 halftime lead with a penalty kick, drawn by Chaco Gimenez and converted by Gonzalo Pineda.

I feel like taking back everything I wrote about Necaxa and their acquisitions. I was pretty sure that they had made some astute signings and that they would fight hard to stay up. After tonight, that seems pretty unlikely. It’s just one game, but it’s very difficult to see them staying up after the performance they put in tonight.

Necaxa’s only real chances came off of dead balls and long shots. They were poor, to put it bluntly. Despite all of the additions, they looked like the same team who couldn’t score worth a lick in the last tournament. They didn’t look like they had a whole lot of fight or creativity in the midfield, and you usually need at least one or the other to win games.

The first half between Jaguares and Necaxa was played at a bit of a pedestrian pace and didn’t feature a lot of action, but Jaguares’ new signing Damian Manso has ensured that the second half will be a much different story. In the 48th minute, off of a corner kick, Manso hit a great drive from 20 yards away from goal, hitting a great dive into the net with his right foot, beating Jorge Villalpando at his far post.

Necaxa would be forced into pushing some numbers forward in any game, but their sense of urgency is probably going to be more than most of us have ever seen from a team in the first game of a season. They are in a situation where literally every single point matters, a lot. They have a massive gap to make up in the relegation race and can hardly afford to drop points in matches where they are similar to their opponents in talent. Necaxa struggled to score goals all of the last tournament, but they’ll need to remedy that situation as soon as possible.

Despite being listed as in the starting lineup all across the interwebs, Jaguares striker Jackson Martinez has been scratched from the lineup late and Antonio Pedroza has taken his place. Pedroza doesn’t have much experience at this level, but here’s what we do know. He’s 19 years old and he’s much, much smaller than Martinez, giving Jaguares a totally different dynamic. Martinez is a big dude, standing about 6’2”. He’s a target man, but he’s very mobile for a guy his size. Pedroza, on the other hand, is 5’6”.

Even if Pedroza is good enough to step up to this level and contribute, Jaguares is almost certainly missing something without the physical stature and experience of Martinez. Last season, they did quite a bit of playing the ball up to his head, but so far tonight, everything has been on the floor. Jaguares are looking a little bit out of their element, but this probably has as much to do with the fact that it’s the first game of the season, if not more. They’re looking a little bit rusty to say the least.

Those of you who followed along with my live coverage of Mexican football last season know about my adventures with tracking down accurate lineups. Unlike the English Premier League and La Liga, it’s always a challenge. Oh, sure, people put out lineups, but they’re inaccurate half the time. Usually, when two sites that I consider to be reputable for things other than La Primera put up the same lineup, I figure I’m safe. Tonight’s lineups check out at multiple sites, so if this is a crock of BS, it’s not my fault.

Necaxa lineup (4-4-2): Perez ; Ledesma, Salazar, Quatrocchi, Ibarra ; Sandoval, Barbosa, Garcia, Silva ; Gandin, Blanco

The 2011 Clausura season in the Mexican Primera kicks off tonight with Necaxa vs. Jaguares, two teams with a difficult struggle in front of them. Jaguares try to move on without Danilinho, while Necaxa, the favorites for the drop, start their journey to try to avoid relegation. Necaxa are in a gigantic hole as far as the coefficients go in the relegation race, and they will need to put up a great season to stay up. Something like 23 or 24 points, which could be a Liguilla place in an odd year, will probably do the trick. A relegation coefficient of 1.2 is probably the “magic number,” what a team will have to reach to feel comfortable about their chances of avoiding the drop.

The action resumes at 6 pm ET on Saturday, with three title contenders in action all at once. Cruz Azul takes on Estudiantes Tecos, Monterrey hosts San Luis, and Tigres de la UANL travels to face Queretaro. Santos hosts Atlante at 8 pm, and a new look Atlas side hosts Morelia at 9:45 in the night cap.