Queretaro, Morelia, Tigres take leads in 2nd legs

Queretaro, Morelia and Tigres will take leads into the return legs of their quarterfinal playoffs in Mexico's Apertura championship.

In weekend matches, Queretaro won 2-1 at home against Guadalajara Chivas, Morelia rallied to win 2-1 against Cruz Azul, and Tigres defeated Pachuca 1-0. In the other first-leg quarterfinal, Jaguares drew 2-2 with Santos.

The return games are set for next weekend.

Uruguayan striker Carlos Bueno netted twice for Queretaro, opening the scoring in the 9th minute with a curling left-footed shot from outside the area. He added a second in the 69th, beating a Chivas defender to steer a cross from the leg wing inside the far post.

Queretaro, in the playoffs for the first time, appeared set for a two-goal victory but Chivas' superior possession was rewarded when Jorge Enrique scored with a looping header just before the final whistle.

Javier Orozco gave Cruz Azul the lead against Morelia, tapping in from close range in the 32nd minute. Cruz Azul went down to 10 men in the 69th when Fausto Pinto was sent off for an altercation with Morelia manager Tomas Boy. Striker Rafael Marquez equalized for Morelia with a header in the 77th and added the second goal eight minutes later.

Tigres got the only goal of the game in the 27th when Chilean Hector Mancilla headed in following a swift attack. Carlos Salcido, on loan at Tigres from Fulham, was sent off in the 62nd for a two-footed lunge, but Pachuca couldn't find an equalizer despite piling on pressure in the later stages of the game.

Santos took an early lead after Panamanian Felipe Baloy volleyed in from a corner in the 4th minute and extended their lead when Mexican international Oribe Peralta scored from close range in the 32nd.

Colombian Jackson Martinez got one back with a header in the 84th, before Franco Arizala fired the equalizer past the goalkeeper in injury time. Santos' Jose Cardenas had been sent off for an illegal tackle from behind in the 60th.

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Miguel Sabah’s 65th-minute goal gave Morelia a 1-0 win over Jaguares Friday at Estadio Morelos.

Miguel Sabah’s 65th-minute goal gave Morelia a 1-0 win over Jaguares Friday at Estadio Morelos.

Sabah scored 13 minutes after Chiapas were reduced to 10 men by a red card to Miguel Martinez. The match finished ten-on-ten after Monarcas’ Joel Huiqui was sent off in stoppage time.

Jaguares’ best chance to score came early, when Franco Arizala sent a shot off the post in the 22nd minute. Sabah’s game-winner came off a cross from Angel Sepulveda, who had been on the field only four minutes after replacing Jorge Gastelum.

The loss left Jaguares fifth in the final Apertura standings at 7-5-5 (26 pts), with a +5 goal differential. After tiebreakers were considered, Monarcas squeaked into the Liguilla in seventh place, also at 7-5-5 and 26 points.

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Atlante Fight Back to Tie Morelia 4-4

Atlante twice faced a three goal deficit while hosting Morelia in Ciudad Nezahuacoytl, but fought back from 3-0 and then 4-1 down to tie Morelia 4-4 in a rip-roaring encounter that opened the weekend. Rafael Marquez Lugo got the ball rolling in the 18th minute with a header, while Eduardo Lugo added a second with a tap-in just after the half-hour mark.

Things looked done and dusted when Luis Venegas put the ball into his own net to put the visitors 3-0 up in the 69th minute, but the last 15 minutes of the game saw an incredible four goal sequence.

First, the talismanic Osvaldo Martinez headed home from a well-placed cross by Christian Bermudez in the 75th minute. Marquez Lugo looked to have dashed any hopes of a comeback when he restored the three goal advantage after a good run and finish 10 minutes from time, but then Morelia completely broke down.

Bermudez made it 4-2 with a powerful near-post finish before controversy erupted as referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez awarded a seemingly nonexistent penalty, sending off Marvin Cabrera for his challenge on Sonny Guadarrama. Martinez converted the penalty and Venegas turned from goat to hero, redeeming his own goal by connecting with a diving header to stun Morelia and send the home fans into a craze.

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Atlas Cannot Help Poor Record with 1-1 Draw Against Morelia

Atlas remained rooted to the foot of the Primera table after giving away a late lead against visiting Morelia, which fell further down the table after occupying a playoff spot for much of the early season. After a scoreless first half, Jahir Barraza finished off a swift counter to put Atlas ahead. However, Rafael Marquez Lugo flicked on a deep cross into the box past goalkeeper in the 83rd to earn a point that benefited neither side.

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Apertura Leaders Tigres beaten 2-0 at Morelia

Apertura Leader Tigres suffered a shocking 2-0 defeat away to Morelia in the Mexican Apertura on Friday night.

The visitor had been frustrated by its inability to score and was sucker-punched late on as Miguel Sabah scored for Morelia 11 minutes from time before Jaime Lozano Espin's penalty in the 88th minute.

Tigres' defeat will allow Cruz Azul to go clear at the top of the table if it takes anything from Saturday night's clash with San Luis.

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America Fights Back to Tie Morelia 1-1

America had to fight back to tie Morelia on Sunday evening at the Estadio Azteca, extending its winless streak to seven games. In conceding a late equalizer, Morelia failed to keep the pace in its quest for a playoff berth, slipping closer to the bottom of the table.

The home side, missing defender Aquivaldo Mosquera on international duty and starting with Vicente Sanchez on the bench, came out flat, and similar to prior games conceded an early goal. The America defense failed to deal with a cross to Rafael Marquz Lugo at the far post, and he headed across for Miguel Sabah, who headed home with some ease in the 11th minute.

Morelia, boosted by the early goal, looked right at home in the Azteca, while America looked disjointed, incapable of putting together any serious offense until the second half. Just when it looked like the team would tumble to defeat in front of its own fans, though, Juan Carlos Valenzuela came through with the winner after Morelia was reduced to 10 men after two yellow cards in the space of three minutes for substitute Luis Noriega.

Morelia goalkeeper Federico Vilar, who was having an excellent game until that point, erred in coming out to collect a free kick in the area, allowing Valenzuela to turn the ball home in the 84th minute. Marvin Cabrera received his marching orders in stoppage time, sending Morelia down to nine men, but it was too late to meaningfully impact the game.

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Toluca's Ivan Alonso scores twice to defeat Morelia 2-1

Ivan Alonso scored both goals as Toluca defeated Morelia 2-1 Sunday at Estadio Nemesio Diez.

Alonso’s goals, in the 37th and 79th minutes, sandwiched Luis Sandoval’s 49th-minute strike for Monarcas, and lifted the Diablos striker into a tie for second place in the Apertura scoring race with seven.

Alonso caught goalkeeper Federico Vilar out of position to give Toluca the early lead. Diablos netminder Alfredo Talavera got a hand on Sandoval’s equalizer, but could not keep it out of the net. Alonso sealed the win with a long-range shot.

The win leaves Toluca at 3-5-2, with 14 points. Morelia fall to 4-1-4 (13).

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Galaxy preparing to play Morelia's best (Via mlssoccer.com)

FC Dallas tossed Major League Soccer’s 800-pound gorilla off their collective back, and Seattle stomped it to death.

So after two MLS teams picked up historic victories against Mexican clubs on Mexican soil, surely Galaxy players are cracking their knuckles, ready to land another death blow on an unsuspecting Mexican club, right?

Not so fast, said Galaxy coach Bruce Arena.

“The results Seattle and Dallas got don’t help us because I think Morelia will come close to playing their full team,” Arena said ahead of Tuesday night's CONCACAF Champions League match here at Morelia (8 pm ET, Fox Soccer). “Dallas played against reserves and youth players and Seattle didn’t play against the full first team either. We’re going to play against the full team … we’re going to play against their best group.”

Morelia’s best group is capable of pulling out some results in difficult situations. After starting the season off with a win over Xoloitzcuintles of Tijuana, Morelia lost three consecutive matches before drawing Puebla and beating San Luis. This past weekend, though, Morelia beat Cruz Azul in Mexico City, which gives the club a bit more breathing room and time to focus on the Galaxy.

“Having gotten a result this weekend makes things a little easier because they were under a little pressure in the league,” Arena said. “They would have been thrilled to come home with a point and they got three. That takes a little pressure off them. They can say now that this week, this game is more important than the game we have on the weekend.”

Morelia cannot get away with anything but their best against the Galaxy.

“What’s happened in the past is that Mexican teams could field a B or a few members of their A team and some kids from the youth team, but now they realize that it’s just not good enough and they’re not going to win that way,” Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said. “With a big crowd showing up [on Tuesday], my guess is that they’ll bring as close to a full team as they can and they’ll be ready to go.”

Still, while Morelia may have been put on notice because of what happened earlier this year in other Champions League matches, the Galaxy’s job was always going to be a challenge.

“It’s always been a difficult thing for US teams to come into Mexico and get wins, and just this year you’ve started to see that breakthrough with Dallas and Seattle getting wins,” Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant said. “Hopefully we can follow suit, and hopefully that barrier is coming down a little bit.”

Part of Morelia’s reaction to the losses suffered by Pumas UNAM and Monterrey may be to take this match as serious as a league game and field the team’s strongest unit. Regulars or not, moving players in and out of the lineup won’t be an advantage one way or another.

“Whoever they bring out, we’ve done scouting — but we don’t know their first, second team and they don’t know ours,” Dunivant said. “It’s all new on the night, so we have to go ahead and do our job. We can’t really worry about that."

Luis Bueno covers the LA Galaxy for MLSsoccer.com

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Jaime Lozano steers Morelia to second win

Jaime Lozano struck twice as Morelia came from behind to beat San Luis 3-2 on Sunday to secure its second victory in the Mexican Apertura championship.

Lozano scored in the 40th and with a 78th-minute penalty for Morelia, which won for the first time since the opening day of the tournament to move to seven points from seven games.

Michael Arroyo had earlier put San Luis ahead from the penalty spot in the 32nd, with Joao Rojas getting Morelia's other goal in the 41st. Ismael Franco scored a late second for San Luis just before the final whistle.

The match was postponed from earlier in the season.

Guadalajara leads the standings with 16 points.

Credit: FOX Sports

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Despite nine-man roster, Chivas pull off stunner over Morelia

A defensive struggle was playing out until Guadalajara went 1-0 ahead after 50 minutes through an own goal, as Yasser Corona flicked a low centre from Miguel Angel Ponce into an unprotected net. After this first tally of the match, things got interesting.

Three minutes later Morelia's Damian Manso rifled a shot into the bottom left corner from 15 yards to even the match. Things got worse for Guadalajara as they went down to 10 men in the 56th minute as Jonny Magallon was ordered off. Then amazingly, they lost Patricio Araujo to another red card after 70 minutes.

However, although Guadalajara was down to nine, Jesus Sanchez wriggled clear on the right flank and crossed for substitute Antonio Gallardo to trickle home a near-post effort, pulling off a tough won victory.

Morelia stand at the bottom of the table with three points after four games, with Guadalajara top on goals scored from Unam Pumas, with both teams tied on 10 points.

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UNAM Pumas survive against Morelia

Unam Pumas made it four teams with a perfect record by claiming a 1-0 win at Morelia. Luis Fuentes scored the Pumas only goal after 17 minutes and Pumas held on thereafter, even after Michelle Galindo was sent off in the 77th minute. The Pumas will face Monterrey in what should be a cruise for the streaking squad.

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After loss to Pumas, what is next for Morelia?

According to ESPN-Los Angeles, even though Morelia, one of the better supported Mexican clubs in the L.A. area, lost to Mexico City's Pumas UNAM the Monarcas might have booked a Home Depot Center encounter with the loss. A win over the Caribbean Championship runner-up next weekend will send Morelia to the Group A preliminary round of the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League held in Los Angeles.

Morelia could face other Group A opponents such as the L.A. Galaxy, Costa Rica's Alajuelense and either Honduras' Motagua or Guatemala's Municipal.

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Pumas to play Morelia for Mexican title

The UNAM Pumas and Morelia will play for the Mexican Clausura title after beating Chivas and Cruz Azul in the semifinals. The Pumas will be seeking their seventh title during the first leg of the final on Thursday in Morelia, followed by a return match Sunday at estadio Olimpico.

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