Mendivil scores pair to push Pachuca past Arabe 2-0

October 22, 2009

Ulises Mendivil scored a goal in each half to lead Pachuca to a 2-0 win against Arabe Unido in both team’s final CONCACAF Champions League group stage match at Estadio Hidalgo Wednesday night.

The victory sent Pachuca, which already booked a berth in the quarterfinals, to the knockout round the Group A winner, while leaving Arabe to await the result of clash later Wednesday between the Houston Dynamo and Metapan in El Salvador.

Mendivil’s first goal was the culmination of a dominant first half full of scoring chances for Pachuca. The first came to Raul Martinez, whose deflected attempt forced Arabe Unido goalkeeper Carlos Bejarano to dive to his right and make a tremendous save in the 14th minute.

Bejarano grabbed a ball that he deflected off the underside of his arm and nearly rolled over the goal line three minutes later, denying Marco Perez a goal, and — in the 26th minute — defender Harold Cummins headed Mendivil’s shot off the line after Bejarano came off his line to challenge Luis Montes.

In the 29th minute, Montes collected a bouncing ball and put his shot off the far post and whiffed on a rebound attempt.

Bejarano again made a diving save in the 42nd minute off Edy Brambrila’s shot from the top of the 18-yard box.

Two minutes later Mendivil scored his first goal, taking a cross, cutting inside of a sliding Arabe Unido defender and placing the ball inside the far post from 14 meters.

The first half ended with a scuffle involving all 22 players in the Pachuca defensive third.

Mendivil scored his second goal in the 55th minute, firing Juan Rojas’ cross first-time from the edge of the six-yard box into the net to give the Tuzos a commanding 2-0 lead.

Things went from bad to worse for Arabe Unido three minutes later when Bejarano was shown a red card by Salvadorian referee Joel Aguilar for taking Mendivil, who was in alone on the keeper, down just outside the 18-yard box.

Arabe coach Richard Parra brought on Jose Marin for Armando Cooper three minutes later. Down two goals and down a man, Arabe Unido never truly threatened late as Pachuca cruised to a fifth group stage victory.

PACHUCA, Mexico

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Tags: Armando Cooper, bouncing ball, Carlos Bejarano, champions league group, coach richard, concacaf champions league, edy, estadio hidalgo, far post, goal line, group stage, Harold Cummins, Houston, houston dynamo, Joel Aguilar, jose marin, Juan, juan rojas, Luis Montes, Marco Perez, mendivil, metapan, quarterfinals, raul martinez, Richard Parra, three minutes, Tuzos, ulises, Ulises Mendivil

Campbell to referee Gold Cup final

July 27, 2009

NEW YORK – Courtney Campbell will referee Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final between Mexico and the United States, the fourth match the Jamaican veteran has officiated during the confederation championship.

The 41-year-old Campbell, who was a referee at the 2007 Gold Cup as well as qualifying for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, was the man in the middle for two previous games involving the United States and one involving Mexico.

Campbell refereed both U.S. games against Honduras, in the first round and in the semifinals, and Mexico’s quarterfinal match against Haiti.

Referee assignments:

FINAL
Sunday, July 26
At Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
USA vs. Mexico

Referee: Courtney Campbell (JAM)
Assistant Referees: Ricardo Morgan (JAM), William Torres (SLV)
Fourth: Joel Aguilar (SLV)

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Tags: aguilar, assistant referees, concacaf, concacaf gold cup, confederation, courtney campbell, East Rutherford, east rutherford new jersey, giants stadium, giants stadium east rutherford, Haiti, Honduras, Joel Aguilar, man in the middle, match, Mexico, New Jersey, new jersey usa, New York, previous games, referee assignments, Ricardo Morgan, slv, u s games, U.S., United States, veteran, William Torres, world cups

Campbell to oversee USA-Honduras again

July 23, 2009

NEW YORK -Courtney Campbell will referee the Gold Cup semifinal match between the United States and Honduras on Thursday, heading an all Jamaican crew, while Roberto Moreno of Panama will be the man in the middle for the Mexico-Costa Rica game.

This will the third match Campbell has officiated over at this Gold Cup and second for Moreno.

Campbell was the referee for the group meeting between the United States and Honduras on July 8 in Washington, won 2-0 by the Americans, and also was official for Sunday’s Mexico-Haiti quarterfinal in Dallas, won by Mexico 4-0.

Moreno refereed the group B encounter between Haiti and Grenada on July 8 in Washington, a 2-0 win by Haiti.

Match officials assignments:

SEMIFINALS
Thursday, July 23
At Soldier Field, Chicago
USA vs. Honduras
Referee: Courtney Campbell (JAM)
Assistant Referees: Ricardo Morgan (JAM), Anthony Garwood (JAM)
Fourth: Marco Rodriguez (MEX)

Costa Rica vs. Mexico
Referee: Roberto Moreno (PAN)
Assistant Referees: Daniel Williamson (PAN), William Torres (SLV)
Fourth: Joel Aguilar (SLV)

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Tags: aguilar, Anthony Garwood, assistant referees, Chicago, chicago usa, Costa Rica, courtney campbell, Dallas, Daniel Williamson, encounter, gold cup, grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Joel Aguilar, Marco Rodriguez, Mexico, New York, Panama, quarterfinal, referee, refereed, Ricardo Morgan, roberto moreno, soldier field chicago, United States, USA, Washington, William Torres

Honduras prevails over Canada 1-0 on PK

July 19, 2009

PHILADELPHIA – Honduras advanced to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the third time, beating Canada 1-0 Saturday on a first-half penalty by Walter Martinez.

Playing before a spirited crowd filled largely with the familiar blue and white shirts and flags, Honduras – which lost to the United States in the 1991 final and in the 2005 semifinals – will travel to Chicago to face the winner between the USA and Panama.

“We knew anything could happen,” Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda said through a translator. “We knew we had to play for 95 minutes and if we did, we would get the result.”

Honduras controlled the first 10-15 minutes, but Canada slowly began to take possession. The Catrachos, however, got its break in the 36th minute when Canada defender Paul Staltieri was whistled for an infraction on a bicycle kick attempt by Martinez. The ball ricocheted inadvertently off Staltieri’s hand and out of bounds.

Martinez capitalized by sending the penalty kick down the middle while Canada goalkeeper Greg Sutton dived left.

“All referees make mistakes and are human,” Martinez said through a translator. “I didn’t think it was a penalty, but I was able to score.”

Staltieri argued the call for what many thought was a handball, but earned a yellow for his tug of Martinez’s jersey disputing the decision by Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar.

“From the end of the bench, it looked phantom to me,” Canada interim coach Stephen Hart said.

Canada had a couple of good scoring chances earlier in the half, most notably in the 22nd minute.

That’s when Atiba Hutchinson received a pass from Patrice Bernier and fired from 15 yards. But Honduran goalkeeper Donis Escober was able to get low and block the attempt with his left hand.

Just when it seemed as if the momentum had changed for Honduras, Canada nearly tied the game. In the 56th minute, Bernier sent a cross in front where an unmarked Josh Simpson. But Escobar again was able to make a diving save to preserve the advantage.

Playing in its ninth Gold Cup since 1991, Honduras will be trying for its first championship. Honduras has failed to qualify for the Gold Cup only in 2002. It has advanced to the World Cup finals once (1982) and remains in contention for 2010.

“I think with our speed, which is our strength, we were able to manage the game and pack it off in the back,” Martinez said. “We were able to get the result we were looking for.”

Canada, meanwhile, was eliminated after a nice run through the tournament. It was hoping for a Gold Cup title for the first time since 2000.

“I’m very proud of the players,” Hart said. “I think we showed a lot of character.”

Canada lost in a disputed semifinal to the United States in 2007 and fell just short in a potential rematch. Canada has now lost two of three matches to Honduras in the Gold Cup. Honduras won their meeting in 1991, 4-2, while Canada was victorious 3-1 in 1996.

On this particular night, Canada wasn’t able to score despite a number of solid opportunities late in the second half. The best chance came in the 85th minute when Kevin McKenna’s header struck the left post.

“In the second half, we did much, much, much better,” Hart said. “Sutton came up big on chances. In the end, you lose on a penalty. What can you do?”

It was the second time Canada has lost on a disputed goal. In 2007, a Canadian goal was disallowed in injury time in a 2-1 loss to the United States in the semifinals.

“We executed our game plan pretty much the way we expected to,” Sutton said. “You take away the tough call against us in the first half, which I think explains itself, we held possession of the ball. In the second half, we created a lot of chances.”

By Andy Jasner

Tags: Andy Jasner, atiba hutchinson, bicycle kick, Canada, catrachos, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, concacaf gold cup, Goalkeeper, Greg Sutton, handball, Hutchinson, infraction, interim coach, Joel Aguilar, josh simpson, kevin mckenna, kick down, Panama, patrice bernier, Paul Staltieri, penalty kick, Philadelphia, referee, referees, reinaldo rueda, stephen hart, third time, United States, Walter Martinez, white shirts

Perez gives Panama 1-1 draw with Mexico

July 10, 2009

HOUSTON – Mexico and Panama drew 1-1 Thurday night, a match which included a 12-minute delay late in the second half for pushing and shoving match with players leaving the bench and debris from the stands.

The result clinched quarterfinal berths for Canada, the United States and Guadeloupe, which beat Nicaragua 2-0 earlier in the evening.

The match finished with three players ejected as well as a coach — Mexican manager Javier Aguirre.

What was already a tense match turned ugly when Panama’s Ricardo Phillips pushed Aguirre near the Mexican bench. Phillips reacted after Aguirre appeared to kick him as Phillips dribbled the ball down the sideline. Aguirre extended his leg to stop the ball and made contact with Phillips.

Phillips pushed the coach and Mexico’s bench immediately reacted.

Soon drink cups and other items rained onto the field from the stands, mostly toward Panama players and its bench.

Panama players on the bench walked to the middle of the field in protest while Mexican players tried to calm the partisan crowd.

Peace was restored but not after both teams lost momentum.

The match was testy early but reached a peak when Mexico midfielder Luis Noriega and Panama’s Armando Gun were shown straight red cards for a mini-altercation during first-half injury time.

Gun took umbrage at a foul by Giovani dos Santos near Panama’s bench. He reacted and Noriega responded to Gun’s aggression, prompting a brief skirmish between both teams.

That’s when referee Joel Aguilar took out his red card and showed it to Noriega and Gun.

Players from both sides also exchanged pushes earlier in the match that totaled 25 fouls (Mexico 16, Panama nine) in the first 45 minutes.

Things perhaps heated after Panama’s Blas Perez led an elbow to the back of Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 14th minute while Ochoa went up for a long centered pass that sailed over the crossbar.

Ochoa laid inside his goal for a couple of minutes, reaching for his lower back. He remained in the match.

The fighting overshadowed the match that featured goals by Mexico’s Miguel Sabah and Panama’s Perez.

Sabah scored 10 minutes into the match. Perez scored 19 minutes later.

Sabah sent Giovanni dos Santos’ rolling cross to the opposite post to beat Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, sending his shot into the lower right corner of the net.

Dos Santos broke away with only the goalkeeper to beat when Israel Martinez filtered a pass through Panama defenders near the left sideline.

Dos Santos then sprinted about 40 yards before sending the ball for Sabah, who finished for his first goal in four caps with El Tri.

It was also the 500th goal in Gold Cup history.

Sabah was the Mexican Clausura scoring champion in his first season with Monarcas Morelia.

It was Panama’s leaders and national icons that helped “La Marea Roja,” the Red Wave. It was those same leaders that are very familiar with Mexican soccer.

That includes Perez.

The Panama forward and Felipe Baloy play in the Mexican Premier division.

Perez tied the game in the 29th minute after he forced his way through two Mexican defenders. He tapped in a bouncing ball near the mouth of the goal past Ochoa.

Perez, who plays for Pachuca, reached a Baloy pass via header while Mexico defenders Jose Castro and Jonny Magallon watched the play develop.

Mexican defenders displayed their displeasure briefly pointing fingers, pointing at the ground near the scene of the defensive mishap while screaming at each other.

Baloy, who has made a career in Mexico playing for Monterrey, out-jumped his man near the penalty mark to send the ball to Blas.

By Ivan Orozco

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