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.
Mexican Primera Saturday, Clausura Round 1: Cruz Azul Coast, Tigres de la UANL Fight Back For Draw, Monterrey Stumble
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.
Apparently $12m can buy you something after all, as Tigres recovered from a 2-0 deficit to draw Queretaro 2-2. Carlos Bueno will have Gallos Blancos supporters asking “Blanco who?” tonight after scoring two goals in his first match with the team. Danilinho paid back some of his hefty transfer fee with the goal that made it 2-1, and Lucas Lobos brought back a point for Tigres in the 77th minute. While Queretaro would have taken a draw before the match, they might be wondering what could have been, as they failed to convert some great chances. They very easily could have had four or five goals.
Monterrey were even a bigger surprise than Tigres tonight, completely collapsing in the second half. San Luis were the more aggressive side in a mediocre first half, but Monterrey certainly had more chances. In the second half, they created next to nothing and were outplayed by a San Luis side that deserved their 2-0 road win. Based on the fact that Monterrey has the same side that was arguably the best in all three of the last three tournaments, this is likely just a blip, but a couple of early results like this might get the fans wondering if something is going wrong with the Rayados.
There are two late games tonight in La Primera, with Santos Laguna taking on Atlante and Atlas hosting Morelia in a stadium that will be empty as a punishment for fan violence in Atlas’s last game of the 2010 Apertura.
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