Marco Vidal and Indios played to a scoreless draw against Monterrey while Edgar Castillo and Tigres split the points with Puebla.
Indios 0 - 0 Monterrey
Indios started their 2009 Apertura on Saturday night with a lackluster goalless effort at home against Monterrey at Estadio Olimpico Benito Juárez.
Marco Vidal started at right midfielder for Uruguayan head coach Hector Eugui before getting substituted in the 73rd minute for Cameroonian Alain Nkong.
New Indios goalkeeper Cesar Lozano proved to be the man of the match for the hosts who were bombarded by the Monterrey attack all evening long.
The new arrival from Tecos thwarted all efforts by the visitors including a spectacular save in the 72nd minute when a shot was rifled towards goal only to see Lozano stretch out his left palm to deflect the ball away for a corner kick.
The night was a quiet one for Vidal who, along with his teammates, could never find a rhythm in the center of the field as the Aborigenes' chances at goal were limited by the Rayados defense.
Indios' best chance came early in the second half when a cross by Luis Francisco García found the foot of forward Julio Daniel Frías who one-touched the ball but came up empty after a solid save by Monterrey goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco.
The disappointing tie for the 2009 Clausura semifinalists now puts a greater impetus on their visit next week to Santos who play today at Morelia.
Tigres 1 - 1 Puebla
Tigres failed to impress their home fans on Saturday evening by barely managing to salvage a tie against 10-man Puebla at Estadio Universitario in San Nicolas, Nuevo Leon.
Edgar Castillo started at left back for head coach Daniel Guzman and went the full 90 minutes in his Tigres debut.
After exchanging several opportunities in the first half, both clubs came out for the second half with a greater offensive purpose and Puebla would get rewarded in the 52nd minute when Pablo Aja's shot struck the hand of Tigres defender Alfredo González Tahuilán in the penalty area.
The referee blew the whistle without any hesitation giving the visitors a penalty kick which was calmly converted by Carlos Ruiz.
However four minutes later Tigres was given a gift when Puebla defender Alvaro Ortiz picked up his second yellow card giving the hosts a man advantage with 34 minutes to play.
Castillo and his teammates finally were able to equalize in the 72nd minute when Lucas Lobos scored on a free kick after Puebla's Luis Munoz committed a foul on Itamar Batista.
Despite getting the tying goal, Guzman's squad was unable to take advantage of the momentum and mounted only one serious effort at goal the rest of the match when Castillo's crossed to Armando Pulido in the 89th minute who shot but was denied by Puebla goalkeeper Jorge Villalpando.
Next up for Tigres is a weekend visit to Guadalajara to take on Chivas.
Notes
Paco Torres did not see any action in Pachuca's 2-3 road victory at Estudiantes. |
Monday July 27, 2009
5:28 pm |
Yes pachuca does have a new coach. Enrique
Meza left pachuca for cruz azul. However Enrique Meza for some reason benched Torres near the end of the season and he came in as a sub for Pachuca during the la liguilla or playoffs.
— luis
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Sunday July 26, 2009
1:16 pm |
Any information on why Torres did not play? Does Pachuca have a new coach?
— milkshake of despair
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