The Mexican Primera Division, 2011 Apertura tournament is now two rounds away from completion, and we're not really any closer to knowing what the Liguilla field is going to look like after the completion of Jornada 15. Second bottom Club America is all but done after only managing a draw against Santos Laguna, but they're still not mathematically out of the playoffs. Chivas Guadalajara is locked in, but everyone else can easily take a massive drop. Here are all the results.
Previous match reports
Chivas Guadalajara 1-0 UANL Tigres
Toluca went negative on the road. Surprise! La Celeste Machina is in seriously rough shape and might miss Liguilla if they're not careful. Their defense finally looks decent, but they have just one goal scored and no wins in their last three games. Toluca currently sit outside of Liguilla places, but only by one point.
I, like many, started to entertain the thought that Monterrey were not one of the eight best sides in Mexico and that they were no longer favorites to qualify for Liguilla. I forgot that they had a match against Club Atlas at home remaining on their schedule. Whoops! The Rayados now sit in eighth, one point clear of a sea of teams below them. Also, Humberto Suazo finally scored a goal, guys!
Herculez Gomez and DaMarcus Beasley both played 90 minutes in this one. America! Puebla are now just two points out of a Liguilla place with this win. Tecos were never really in it, but got a stoppage time consolation goal from 'Pony' Rodrigo Ruiz. He is 39-years-old and is the leading assist-maker for Tecos this year. Can't make this stuff up.
San Luis are now just one point out of Liguilla thanks to this win, while Queretaro's loss has them only a tenth of a point above the drop in the relegation coefficients. 'Bofo' Adolofo Bautista made a substitute appearance for the Gallos Blancos, but failed to score. The once lethal Mexican international has now gone over 600 days without scoring a goal in the Mexican Primera.
Both goals came in the first six minutes of this 1-1 draw, but I promise you, it was a heck of a lot more entertaining than that makes it sound. Darwin Quintero scored the opener, assisted by Jose Cardenas, but Santos was quickly answered by a great goal from Daniel Montenegro. Both teams had chances to take the lead with penalties, but Christian Benitez missed one for America in the 53rd minute before Quintero missed a chance to give his team all three points with a penalty miss in stoppage time. America's Vicente Sanchez was sent off in the 85th minute and this game featured less defense than the scoreboard suggests.
Pumas sit in third in the table after their win over Atlante, while the Potros are now in serious danger of missing Liguilla, as they sit down in 15th. Of course, because the table is so whack, they're only actually three points out of a playoff spot. Martin Bravo scored the winner for Pumas, but they'll be without Fernando Espinoza next week, as he picked up a second yellow card and was sent off in the 88th minute.
Suddenly, the Xolos are converting their spectacular home support into big home wins. They got their second straight home win on Wednesday night, defeating now fifth placed Jaguares Chiapas. The match was close until Ricardo Esqueda of Jaguares was sent off in the 56th minute, but it was all Xolos from then on out. Jose Sand scored in the 58th minute, and Richard Ruiz sealed the victory with a goal in the 77th.
For more on the Mexican Primera and Mexican football in general, check out SB Nation's Mexican futbol blog FMF State Of Mind.
There are 0 Comments. Add Yours.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.