Cruz Azul held 0-0, advances easily to Group Stage
August 6, 2009
MEXICO CITY – Cruz Azul easily returned to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, settling for a 0-0 draw with Herediano on Wednesday night and advancing thanks to its dominating first-leg win a week ago.
Last year’s runner-up to Atlante, Cruz Azul had numerous chances as it did in its 6-2 victory in Costa Rica, but were thwarted by shots high, wide and some desperate defending.
Herediano also created chances, but its commitment forward to overturn a four-goal deficit left it vulnerable to counterattacks, which came down both sides.
Cruz Azul will join Group C with the Columbus Crew, Saprissa of Costa Rica and the Puerto Rico Islanders. It will open at home against Saprissa on August 19.
The Azulinos used several of the players from last week’s victory, including Javier Orozco, who had three goals.
While Herediano had several chances in the first half, the second half was almost all Cruz Azul, with Pablo Zeballos missed just wide of the right post on a header in the 51st , three minutes later when he turned and shot just off target again, and once more in the 70th when an unmarked header from the edge of the six-yard box skipped wide of the right post.
Alejandro Vela broke in alone on Herediano keeper Adrian de Lemos in the 41st minute, but Christhian Montero raced back and swept away the ball with a sliding tackle on the left side of the penalty area.
Herediano’s best chance came in the 26th, when Marvin Borbon’s free kick from 25 meters forced Cruz Azul keeper Yosgart Gutierrez to push it over the bar. Second-half substitute Jose Guity was unable to get his extended right leg to a cross through the six-yard box from Andy Herron in the 69th minute.
De Lemos scrambled most of the night to diffuse dangerous situations, while Guitierez had to make a handful of dramatic leaping saves.
Cruz Azul’s advancement secures a fourth berth in the Group Stage for Mexico for the second straight year.
Tags: adrian de lemos, Alejandro Vela, Andy Herron, berth, borbon, columbus crew, concacaf, concacaf champions league, Costa Rica, cruz azul, dangerous situations, free kick, group stage, guity, herediano, Herron, Javier Orozco, Jose, Marvin Borbon, Mexico, mexico city, montero, orozco, Pablo Zeballos, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, three minutes, zeballosRelated posts
Cruz Azul held 0-0, advances easily to Group Stage
August 6, 2009
MEXICO CITY – Cruz Azul easily returned to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, settling for a 0-0 draw with Herediano on Wednesday night and advancing thanks to its dominating first-leg win a week ago.
Last year’s runner-up to Atlante, Cruz Azul had numerous chances as it did in its 6-2 victory in Costa Rica, but were thwarted by shots high, wide and some desperate defending.
Herediano also created chances, but its commitment forward to overturn a four-goal deficit left it vulnerable to counterattacks, which came down both sides.
Cruz Azul will join Group C with the Columbus Crew, Saprissa of Costa Rica and the Puerto Rico Islanders. It will open at home against Saprissa on August 19.
The Azulinos used several of the players from last week’s victory, including Javier Orozco, who had three goals.
While Herediano had several chances in the first half, the second half was almost all Cruz Azul, with Pablo Zeballos missed just wide of the right post on a header in the 51st , three minutes later when he turned and shot just off target again, and once more in the 70th when an unmarked header from the edge of the six-yard box skipped wide of the right post.
Alejandro Vela broke in alone on Herediano keeper Adrian de Lemos in the 41st minute, but Christhian Montero raced back and swept away the ball with a sliding tackle on the left side of the penalty area.
Herediano’s best chance came in the 26th, when Marvin Borbon’s free kick from 25 meters forced Cruz Azul keeper Yosgart Gutierrez to push it over the bar. Second-half substitute Jose Guity was unable to get his extended right leg to a cross through the six-yard box from Andy Herron in the 69th minute.
De Lemos scrambled most of the night to diffuse dangerous situations, while Guitierez had to make a handful of dramatic leaping saves.
Cruz Azul’s advancement secures a fourth berth in the Group Stage for Mexico for the second straight year.
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Tags: adrian de lemos, Alejandro Vela, Andy Herron, berth, columbus crew, concacaf, concacaf champions league, Costa Rica, cruz azul, dangerous situations, free kick, group stage, guity, herediano, Herron, Javier Orozco, Jose, Marvin Borbon, Mexico, mexico city, montero, orozco, Pablo Zeballos, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, target, three minutes, zeballosRelated posts
Orozco scores three more, Cruz Azul rolls over Herediano 6-2
July 31, 2009
HEREDIA, Costa Rica—Javier Orozco scored three goals to lead Cruz Azul of Mexico to a 6-2 victory over 10-man Herediano of Costa Rica on Thursday in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round series.
Alejandro Vela gave Cruz Azul the lead in the second minute, tapping in a cross at the right post after a Cristian Riveros cross sailed over Herediano goalkeeper Adrian de Lemos.
Herediano played nearly the entire second half down a man after Eduardo Gomez was sent off with a red card in the 48th minute.
Orozco , who lead the Champions League last year with seven goals, scored his first goal of the night two minutes later when he settled a pass from Vela and lifted his shot over De Lemos. Seven minutes later Orozco gave Cruz Azul a 3-0 lead when he placed his shot in the lower left corner.
Andy Herron cut the lead to two goals a minute later, volleying a long ball and beating goalkeeper Yosgart Gutierrez with a low shot to the right corner.
The match featured several players from both teams who played in the Gold Cup semifinal last week Mexico won on penalty kicks. What was built up as somewhat of a redemption chance for the Costa Rican side turned out to be another triumph for the Mexicans.
Cruz Azul, which lost last season’s finals to Atlante in May, never let up throughout the match. In the 70th minute, Emmanuel Villa headed in a cross by Jamie Lozano to put the Mexican squad up 4-1.
Orozco added his third goal and Champions League leading 10th overall in the 74th minute, all but assuring a berth in the Group Stage of the competition. The winner on aggregate will advance to join the USA’s Columbus Crew, Saprissa of Costa Rica and either Toronto FC or the Puerto Rico Islanders in Group C.
Cristhian Montero cut the lead to 5-2 when he placed a deflected cross from Christhian Blanco past Cruz Azul keeper Jose Corona.
Pablo Zeballos completed the scoring in the 88th minute, finishing a final counter.
The two teams meet again on Wednesday in Mexico City.
Tags: adrian de lemos, Alejandro Vela, columbus crew, competition, Costa Rica, cristhian, cristian riveros, cruz azul, cup semifinal, eduardo gomez, Emmanuel Villa, Goalkeeper, group stage, heredia costa rica, herediano, Herron, Jamie Lozano, Jose, Mexico, mexico city, montero, orozco, penalty kicks, puerto rico islanders, saprissa, toronto fc, zeballosRelated posts
Herediano seeks to avenge Costa Rica against Cruz Azul
July 30, 2009
Vindication for both club and country has given members of Costa Rica’s Herediano some extra incentive when they host Mexican side Cruz Azul in Thursday’s first leg at Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero.
It will have been only a week when three members of the Costa Rican club took part in their country’s emotional Gold Cup semifinal loss on penalty kicks to Mexico, which featured four Cruz Azul players.
Now two of Herediano starters who played in the heart breaking defeat have hinted it is time for a little payback.
“It’s no secret that we will be motivated playing against Cruz Azul and the game comes soon after the [Gold Cup] tournament,” Herediano and Costa Rica midfielder Andy Herron said.
It won’t salve all the wounds, but possibly a few.
“I don’t see it as a continuation of the Gold Cup or that game, but definitely maybe a little bit of revenge will still be on the minds some players like Andy and myself,” added wing back Dennis Marshall, who also played in the July 23 match in Chicago.
Both Marshall and Herron picked up yellow cards against Mexico in a physical and spirited match, which included eight cautions handed out by Panamanian referee Roberto Moreno.
Goalkeeper Ricardo Gonzalez also was a member of the Gold Cup squad and started the Ticos’ group matches against Canada and Jamaica.
Herediano also has several others who did not participate in this year’s Gold Cup team but are part of the player pool for upcoming qualifiers, including midfield veteran Mauricio Solis, who has 110 caps, and defender Cristian Montero.
The club enters the Thursday’s clash with the momentum of 1-0 win over Alajuelense on a 31st-minute goal by Jose Caesar Guity in its Apertura opener.
Cruz Azul, last year’s Champions League runners-up to Atlante of Cancun, hope to avoid another disappointing domestic campaign. Last year, it finished 18th and last in the Mexican Clausura.
The worst fnish in club history led to the departure of coach Benjamin Galindo, who was replaced in June by the familiar face of Enrique Meza.
Meza led Pachuca to CONCACAF Champions Cup titles in 2007 and 2008, and also captured a Copa Sudamericana title in 2006.
Meza also has coached the Cementeros on three different occasions in the past.
“I am happy to be back because this is the team that I hold dear to me,” he said. “This is where I was born into football and to arrive as coach for a fourth time to a club of great prestige is an honor.”
Cruz Azul stumble its Mexican league opener on Saturday, losing 2-0 at home to Jaguares of Chiapas.
But Cruz Azul was missing three players who were part of Mexico’s Gold Cup winning squad: goalkeeper Jesus Corona, defender Fausto Pinto and midfielder and captain Gerardo Torrado.
Torrado’s penalty kick in the 56th minute sparked a 5-0 rout over the United States on Sunday at Giants Stadium.
Meza recently moved to bolster his offense with the acquisition of Chilean striker Emilio Hernandez, who could see his first minutes with his new club during Thursday’s game in Herediano.
Other players of note for the Blue Machine include Dallas-born Honduran international Ramon Nunez and Mexican U-17 and U-20 midfielder Cesar Villaluz.
After Thursday’s game, the two teams will prepare for the return leg on August 5 at Estadio Cruz Azul in southwestern Mexico City.
By Peter Mallett
Tags: Andy, Benjamin Galindo, Canada, Cancun, captain Gerardo Torrado, cesar villaluz, Chicago, club history, Corona, Costa Rica, Cristian Montero, cruz azul, cup semifinal, Dallas, Dennis, Emilio Hernandez, giants stadium, goalkeeper ricardo, gold cup, guity, herediano, Herron, Jamaica, Marshall, Mauricio Solis, mexican clausura, Mexico, midfielder, minute goal, montero, penalty kicks, player pool, Ramon Nunez, ricardo gonzalez, roberto moreno, solis, southwestern Mexico City, vindication, yellow cardsRelated posts
Canada draws 2-2 with Costa Rica
July 11, 2009
MIAMI — Patrice Bernier and Marcel de Jong scored 3 1/2 minutes apart in the first half and led Canada to a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica on Friday, sending the North Americans to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup as the Group A winners.
Canada already had assured itself of a berth in the final eight and finished with seven points to earn a match against the Group B runner-up July 18 in Philadelphia.
Costa Rica improved to four points, and advanced to the quarterfinals when Jamaica beat El Salvador 1-0 in the second game of the doubleheader Friday
“Two-two was a fair result. Both teams played to win the pace of the game changed after the first goal,” Costa Rica coach Rodrigo Kenton said. “Canada is a good, calm organized team.”
The first 20 minutes of the match were listless with both teams getting comfortable with the artificial turf surface and the humidity.
But then both teams exploded for four goals in 11 minutes.
Costa Rica opened the scoring in the 23rd minute thanks to two mistakes by Canadian goalkeeper Greg Sutton on the same play.
Sutton’s goal kick went right to Costa Rica’s Armando Alonso, who headed the ball back into the Canadian zone. Striker Andy Herron ran onto the ball and lofted a shot over Sutton who ventured out too far and stumbled while trying to retreat into his goal.
Two minutes later, Canada tied the game when midfielder Josh Simpson drove down the left flank and found an unmarked Bernier, who volleyed the ball into the goal.
De Jong put Canada ahead in the 28th. His free kick from close to 45 meters was cleared back toward him. He settled it and then launched another attempt that skipped once before deflecting off the inside of the left post past goalkeeper Ricardo Gonzalez.
But Costa Rican captain Walter Centeno, the Miller Lite Man of the Match, equalized in the 34th minute, driving a curving free kick from 30 meters over the wall and found the inside of the goalpost
Costa Rica suffered from suspect defending and shoddy goalkeeping for much of the first half.
Despite the breakdowns, the Ticos sent a wave of pressure at Canada in the second half looking for the winner. Celso Borges sent a bicycle kick by the right post early in the half.
Then Canada got a lucky break when the ball off a corner kick hit Canadian defender Richard Hastings’ hands in the 73rd minute, but American referee Terry Vaughan didn’t call a penalty.
Five minutes later, Borges headed Centeno’s corner, but Canadian midfielder Jaime Peters cleared the ball off the line.
In the 84th minute, Centeno sent a header from 10 yards out just over the crossbar.
That’s as close as Costa Rica could get as Sutton and the Canadian defense prevailed.
“Canada was just sitting back and the result was good for them,” Herron said. “They didn’t mind if they just sat there and went forward, so they just defended the whole time trying to get in good position to try to attack us and we just tried, they defended well.”
“The coach was trying to make a couple of changes to get us close to the goal. I mean we tried we tried to do our best, but Canada did a good job defending.”
With injuries and players tagged with cautions, Canada manager Stephen Hart rested five of his regulars.
“I had no choice. I had no choice,” Hart said. “If any of the players were carded they would out been out of the quarterfinals. And we had injuries. I had no choice.”
Julian de Guzman, captain Paul Stalteri, Ali Gerba, Mike Klukowski, Dejan Jakovic and Josh Simpson all began the match on the bench. Jakovic was injured, while De Guzman, the Gold Cup 2007 MVP, could have been suspended for the quarterfinals with another caution. Inserted in their place were Jaime Peters, Andre Hainault, Simeon Jackson, Richard Hastings and de Jong.
“For us this game in particular there were too many changes we just couldn’t find a rhythm,” Hart said. “In the second half we did marginally better, but overall what we had to do tonight was suffer and we got the result of a point, but at least with three games and now we have a few days to recuperate and head to the quarterfinals.”
By: By Vijay Setlur
Tags: ali gerba, Andre Hainault, Andy Herron, armando alonso, artificial turf, Canada, canadian zone, captain Paul Stalteri, captain Walter Centeno, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, concacaf gold cup, Costa Rica, doubleheader, El Salvador, free kick, goal kick, goalkeeper ricardo, goalkeeping, goalpost, Greg Sutton, Herron, Jamaica, josh simpson, julian de guzman, left flank, marcel de jong, Miami, Mike Klukowski, North Americans, patrice bernier, Peters, Philadelphia, quarterfinals, ricardo gonzalez, Richard Hastings, Rodrigo Kenton, second game, seven points, Simeon Jackson, stephen hart, Terry Vaughan, Vijay Setlur, Walter CentenoRelated posts
Gold Cup: Canada hold Costa Rica to win Group A
July 11, 2009
Canada secured the top spot in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, drawing 2-2 with Costa Rica this Friday. Costa Rica now depend on results in other matches.
The Canadians had already won their first two games and were certain of a spot in the quarter finals. Against Costa Rica, things initially didn’t go as planned as Herron sent a lob over keeper Sutton in the 23rd minute.
But the North Americans reacted fast and Bernier levelled just two minutes later. A great strike from Marcel de Jong even made it 2-1 to Canada in minute 28.
But Costa Rica had the final say as a well-taken free kick from Walter Centeno set the score to 2-2, which would turn out to be the final result.
With seven points from three games, Canada can no longer be surpassed in this group. Costa Rica depend on the result of the match between El Salvador and Jamaica and, likely on those of matches in other groups this weekend.
By:
Tags: Canada, canadians, concacaf, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, concacaf gold cup, Costa Rica, drawing 2, El Salvador, final result, free kick, gold, group, Herron, Jamaica, jonathan, Jonathan Roorda, keeper, marcel de jong, match, North Americans, quarter finals, roorda, score, seven points, sutton, three games, two games, two minutes, Walter CentenoRelated posts
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