Mexico Clausura 2008 Weekly Review - Round 17

The final week of the regular season in Mexico saw Guadalajara and Cruz Azul ensure their places in the quarter-finals of the championship play-offs, while San Luis, Atlas, Pachuca and Necaxa have to make do with places in the Repechaje, where San Luis face Pachuca and Atlas take on Necaxa in the battle for the two remaining play-off spots.

A 2:2 draw away to Jaguares Chiapas was enough for Guadalajara to finish on top of the regular table. Itamar Batista fired Jaguares ahead on 30-minutes, but two goals in 13 minutes midway through the second period from Sergio Santana and Hector Reynoso looked to have ensured maximum points for the visitors. Lenilson Batista’s goal three minutes into injury time ensured a point for Jaguares though, who will also be challenging for the title.

Also progressing directly to the play-offs from Group 3 is Cruz Azul, despite going down 2:0 away to Atlas. Goals a few minutes either side of the break from Jorge Torres and Juan Carlos Medina won it for Atlas, who qualify for the Repechaje as a result and add to their already hectic fixture schedule, what with their continued exploits in the Copa Libertadores.

Missing out on an automatic play-off place from Group 3 is San Luis, trounced 4:1 at Santos. Malher Tressor Moreno gave the visitors an early lead, but goals from Rafael Alejandro Figueroa and Vicente Matias Vuoso put Santos in charge by the interval. A couple of additional late goals from Christian Benitez put further gloss on the result for Santos.

Pachuca just scraped into the Repechaje courtesy of a goalless draw at UNAM Pumas, although they looked to be heading for the exit until Puebla threw away a 2:0 advantage late on at home to Atlante. Andres Nicolas Olivera gave Puebla the lead from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time and when Javier Campora doubled their advantage just after the hour mark, it looked as if Puebla’s season-long battle against the drop might yet result in them going on to challenge for the title. However, two goals in three minutes late on from Christian Bermudez and Giancarlo Maldonado pulled the Apertura champions level and, in doing so, ended the campaign for Puebla.

Elsewhere, an early goal from Panamanian striker Blas Perez was enough for UANL Tigres to see off Necaxa, while there were rare wins for both Morelia and America. Morelia saw off Toluca 2:1, where Sergio Amaury Ponce put the visitors a goal to the good on 10-minutes direct from a free-kick. Young striker Ever Guzman turned the game in Morelia’s favour with a goal five-minutes before the break and another on 53-minutes. After a run of just one point from a dozen matches, America ended the domestic season on a positive note thanks to a solitary goal from Juan Carlos Silva early in the second-half against Monterrey.

Relegated Veracruz finished on a low-key note, being held to a goalless draw away to UAG Tecos. The only item of note from the game itself was the dismissal of Tecos’ Chilean substitute Hugo Droguett on 72-minutes.

Results:

UAG Tecos 0 Veracruz 0
Jaguares Chiapas 2 Guadalajara 2
Morelia 2 Toluca 1
UANL Tigres 1 Necaxa 0
Atlas 2 Cruz Azul 0
UNAM Pumas 0 Pachuca 0
Santos 4 San Luis 1
America 1 Monterrey 0
Puebla 2 Atlante 2
Domingo 04 de Mayo, 2008
Repechaje Qualifiers: Atlas; Necaxa; Pachuca; San Luis

Play-off Qualifiers: Toluca; Jaguares Chiapas; Santos; Monterrey; Guadalajara; Cruz Azul

Relegated: Veracruz