Pumas rides momentum into Honduras

March 9, 2010

Pumas UNAM is hoping to take its recent offensive explosion with them to Honduras Wednesday, when the Mexican powerhouse will meet Marathon in the opening game of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series.

After some early scoring woes, Pumas has exploded for seven goals in the last two matches – blowout wins against Pachuca and Puebla. That’s as many goals as the squad scored in the opening six games of the Mexican Clausura.

On Sunday at Estadio Olimpico Univeritario, Pumas tallied four unanswered goals, including a pair by Argentine Martin Bravo and Jehu Chiapas in a four-minute span in the second half, after Puebla took an early lead on a third-minute goal by Herculez Gomez.

Pumas are second in Group 3 with a 4-4-1 mark, two points behind division-leading Santos.

“I always had faith in our [forwards],” Bravo said. “Although we had [not scored] in previous games, we knew that was coming at some point. The forwards are strong. We are finding goals and the balance in the team I think is the best.”

On Wednesday, Pumas will be without Victor Rosales, who is serving a one-game ban that carries over from the Group Stage. Marathon will miss Glen Mitchell Brown, also suspended for the opening leg.

Pumas is largely unchanged since finishing atop Group D four months ago, while Marathon has undergone numerous changes. Chief among the moves was up top, with manager Manuel Keosseian having left following philosophical differences with management just four days after the Honduran Clausura campaign kicked off.

Nicolas Suazo, cousin of Honduran great David Suazo, returned to the squad he led to a championship in 2005.

Forward Jerry Palacios and left back Mauricio Sabillon are now playing in China, while goalkeeper Juan Obelar transferred to Millonarios in Colombia and defender Mario Beata is still in search of a new club.

Marathon has won only one game in eight to start in the Honduran Clausura, and is sitting in eighth place after a 2-2 draw with Victoria Saturday at Estadio Olimpico Metropollitano. Marathon led 2-0 on goals by Walter Martinez and Carlos Mejia in the opening 34 minutes, only to concede a pair of goals and was reduced to 10 men when defender Marlon Pena, who arrived from Real Espana a month ago, was sent off.

“We do not trust ourselves,” Suazo told La Prensa. “What happens is that we get conditioned to stay with one less man.”
Suazo is hoping his squad, and its supporters, can recover from the disappointing draw quickly.

“Hopefully, they will come to the stadium, they have to support us and that is what counts,” Suazo said. “We are going to represent Honduras and we hope that we have that force to do it well.”

Concacaf

Tags: Argentine, colombia, concacaf champions league, David Suazo, estadio olimpico, game ban, glen mitchell, Glen Mitchell Brown, group stage, herculez gomez, Honduras, Juan, mauricio, mexican clausura, minute goal, minute span, mitchell brown, offensive explosion, olimpi, pachuca, philosophical differences, previous games, Puebla, pumas unam, quarterfinal series, Santos, unanswered goals, victor rosales, Victoria, Walter Martinez

Goal spree results in 2-2 draw for Mexico, Trinidad

October 15, 2009

Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago combined for three goals in a eight-minute span midway through the second half en route to a 2-2 draw at Hasely Crawford Stadium Wednesday night on the final night of CONCACAF qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

Mexico, which saw its five-match winning streak snapped, finished second in the CONCACAF “hexagonal”, one point behind the United States. Honduras defeated El Salvador 1-0 in San Salvador and, coupled with USA’s stunning 2-2 draw against Costa Rica, earned the confederation’s third automatic berth to the World Cup.

Trinidad & Tobago, which received two goals from Kerry Baptiste, finished last in the six-team group with six points from 10 matches.

Playing for nothing but pride, the Soca Warriors pressured El Tri from the opening kick. Dennis Lawrence’s point blank header was pushed away by Guillermo Ochoa, who also was caught off his line moments later before a Trinidad defender cleared the ball off the line.

Baptiste was then played behind the Mexican defense, but he fired well of the target from 16 meters. Baptiste stepped to the spot in the 32nd minute after Gerardo Torrado was adjusted to handle a deep cross.

The Joe Public midfielder fired a low shot that just evaded Ochoa, who guessed correctly and Trinidad & Tobago had a 1-0 halftime lead.

Enrique Esqueda equalized in the 58th minute, ripping the ball over goalkeeper Marvin Phillip’s right shoulder from the right side of the box.

But the Soca Warriors quickly regained the lead when Baptiste latched onto Hector Hughton’s ball into the box and headed past Ochoa from the edge of the six-yard box in the 61st minute.

Trinidad’s lead lasted all of five minutes, though, as Carlos Salcido got in behind the defense and headed the equalizer into the net.

The Soca Warriors nearly claimed all three points moments later, but Robert Primus’ header caromed off the crossbar.

With the United States losing 2-0 to Costa Rica at halftime in Washington, it seemed Mexico would finish atop the group with a draw, but the Americans rallied late and on Jonathan Bornstein’s goal 4½ minutes into second-half stoppage time to stay one point ahead of El Tri.

PORT-OF-SPAIN

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Tags: 2010 world cup, carlos salcido, Crawford Stadium, crossbar, Dennis Lawrence, El Salvador, el tri, enrique esqueda, gerardo torrado, Goalkeeper, guillermo ochoa, hasely crawford stadium, Hector Hughton, joe public, jonathan bornstein, Mexico, midfielder, minute span, port of spain, six points, soca warriors, target, team group, Tobago, Tri, Trinidad, Washington, winning streak

Pumas closes on quarterfinals with 4-0 victory

September 25, 2009

Pumas moved to the verge of reaching the quarterfinals in the CONCACAF Champions League Thursday night, beating Real Espana 4-0 to all but assure its advancement.

Victor Rosales scored his second goal of the tournament and Ismael Inquez added another — both in the first half — to pace Pumas, which improved to 10 points atop Group D and extended its lead to four points over second-place Comunicaciones.

W Connection of Trinidad is third in the group with four points, while Espana remained last with three points and two games remaining. Only two teams advance.

Cruz Azul is the only team to have clinched a berth in the knockout round, but Pumas joined fellow Mexican club Toluca as teams within a point of the final eight.

Pumas, which has only one victory in the Mexican Apertura and is 16th in the 18-team league, can claim its place with a draw at home on Wednesday against W Connection.

The Mexican side pressed Espana from the start, creating chances by Luis Funtes, Fernando Espinoza, Eduardo Gamez and Iniguez in a six-minute span that either went high or wide and never really tested goalkeeper Marcelo Macias.

Pumas finally converted in the 21st when Iniguez took a short corner, dribbled across the top of the area and launched a right-footed shot that Macias was slow reacting to, getting an arm to deflect it downward but letting it slip between him and the near post.

A second short corner enabled Pumas to double its lead in the 40th. Arturo Rodriguez sent a cross into the box where Rosales climbed from the edge of the goal box and headed a shot into the far side netting.

Iniguez figured prominently in the third goal as well, breaking down the right and launching a cross that struck the right thigh of Espana defender Maynor Martinez for an own-goal. The ball looped high over Macias and deflected in off the far post.

Fuentes assisted on the finale, driving to the top of the Espana area before sending a short ball to Javier Cortes, who took one touch to put the ball in position and then chipped a right-footed floater over Macias from the arc.

Fuentes also put a drive off the right post in first-half injury time in a game where Espana had few dangerous moments. Carlos Pavon closed on Alejandro Palacios in the 29th, but the Pumas keeper thwarted the left-footed try with a diving right hand that pushed the ball wide. Douglas Matosso also had an effort from distance in the 50th that Palacios also did well to deny.

MEXICO CITY

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Tags: arturo rodriguez, berth, Carlos Pavon, club toluca, concacaf champions league, cortes, cruz azul, Douglas Matosso, Eduardo Gamez, espinoza, far post, far side, Fernando Espinoza, four points, funtes, gamez, Javier Cortes, knockout, Luis Funtes, macias, maynor, mexican apertura, mexico city, minute span, quarterfinals, Trinidad, victor rosales, W. Connection

De Rosario scores three, Toronto beats Montreal 6-1 to clinch Champions League berth

June 19, 2009

MONTREAL – Dwayne De Rosario scored three goals and Toronto FC defeated the Montreal Impact 6-1 on Thursday to win the Nutlite Canadian Championship and a berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League.

Toronto, which had only won one game by four goals in its history, needed a four-goal victory at Montreal or hand the title to the second-division Vancouver Whitecaps and miss out on the Champions League for a second straight year.

Second-half substitute Chad Barrett headed home an Amado Guevara corner kick in the 82nd minute to put Toronto ahead 5-1 and score the decisive goal that gave Major League Soccer a fifth and the final entrant in the 24-team Champions League.

De Rosario’s three goals came in a 20-minute span and Honduran international Amado Guevara added a pair to edge the Whitecaps on goal difference for the title

“We showed tonight we’ve got something special building at the club,” interim Toronto coach Chris Cummins said. “We’re not going to rest on it, we’re really going to kick off from this.

“I thought we thoroughly deserved it on the night . . . people say we can’t take our chances. Tonight we’ve taken our chances.”

The Impact, last year’s Canadian representative and semifinalists in last season’s Champions League, opened the scoring in the 24th minute after striker Peter Byers was fouled by Toronto defender Nick Garcia setting up a penalty kick.

Tony Donatelli converted the spot kick with a calm right-footed stroke past Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

“When they scored I looked around to every guy and not one of them had their head down,” De Rosario said.

A steady rain and slippery conditions were less than ideal, creating loose footing and uneven bounces throughout the match.

De Rosario started Toronto’s push with a dramatic bicycle kick in the 29th. Montreal goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic punched away a Guevara corner kick, but De Rosario, with his back to goal, pounced on the rebound with a lunging scissors kick to the delight of their hundreds of traveling supporters who had made the six- hour drive from southern Ontario.

De Rosario next converted a Pablo Vitti cross at the top of the penalty area in the 39th, with his hard shot first deflecting off Montreal defender Elkana Mayard, then off the Montreal goal post and into the net giving Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Three minutes into the second half, De Rosario collected a through ball, raced into the penalty area and slotted the ball past Djekanovic at point-blank range.

In the 67th, Guevara closed the gap further, bending a free kick from just outside the penalty area over the wall and past Djekanovic to incease the lead to 4-1.

Barrett, who entered the game to start the second half in place of Vitti, then scored the title clincher and set up an insurance tally by Guevara in the 90th.

Barrett back-healed a cross into the path of Guevara, who volley the ball to complete the victory.

It was the second major unraveling for the Impact who also fell apart in injury time during the second leg of their Champions League semifinal loss to Santos Laguna in March

“When that happens twice, it’s because there’s a problem, there’s a big lack of character on our part . . . you have to honour the city and club and tonight these players didn’t,” said Impact coach Marc Dos Santos.

Toronto will host the Puerto Rico Islanders of the United Soccer Leagues First Division the Preliminary Round of the Champions League, on Tuesday, July 28 and then head to Bayamon, Puerto Rico on Tuesday, August 4 for the second leg.

The Impact were missing four starting defenders from their lineup with Adam Braz and Cedric Joqueviel ruled out of the match due to injury while centre-back Nevio Pizzolitto was given the night off by coach Marc Desantis and defender Zanzan was on international duty with Togo’s national team for a World Cup qualifier against Morocco.

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