CARSON, Calif. -- The InterLiga tournament
concluded group play Wednesday night at The Home Depot Center in
Carson, Calif. Game one of the Group A doubleheader pitted Morelia
against Veracruz in a game where both teams still had a chance to
advance to the final on Sunday.
Morelia were in much more dire straits needing a two-goal victory
to advance out of group play, where as a victory of any kind for
Veracruz assured advancement despite the results of the second game.
Morelia controlled much of the run of play throughout the first
half earning seven corner kicks in the opening 45 minutes, but
couldn't do anything with the ball. Their inability to do anything
with the ball cost them in the 44th minute when Veracruz took
control of the match with a goal against the run of play. Gustavo
Biscayzacu's first-half strike stood up at the end of 90 minutes as
Veracruz went on the win 1-0.
Knowing what they were up against, Morelia came out on the attack
from the opening whistle. Early on the Morelia attack was focused on
the right flank with speedy midfielder Omar Trujillo. In the opening
minutes of the half, Trujillo won a pair of corner kicks, and
Morelia demonstrated themselves to be the more assertive side.
It was Veracruz though that produced the game's first real threat
on goal. In the 6th minute Biscayzacu gathered a ball deep inside
the Morelia penalty area. Biscayzacu managed to get off a quick turn
and fire shot, but his effort lacked the venom required to find the
back of the net. Morelia goalie Moises Munoz stabbed the ball out of
the air with his left hand leaving no rebound.
Morelia went back on the attack following that minor scare
continuing to attack up the wings and win corner kicks. A 9th-minute
corner kick resulted in Morelia's first attempt on goal when Rafael
Marquez connected on Fernando Arce's cross to send a shot goal
bound, but Jorge Bernal was equal to the task in the Veracruz nets
punching the shot over the bar for another corner.
Morelia continued to press, and just following the fifteen-minute
mark saw another chance go by the wayside. Luis Gabriel Rey streaked
up the left side and picked out a wide-open Trujillo at the edge of
the area. Trujillo brought the ball down with his chest and fired
from 19 yards out beating Bernal, but firing wide of the post.
The opening 45 minutes belonged to Morelia, but just before the
half time whistle, Veracruz came to life. Some 36 minutes after
their first shot on goal, Alejandro Leyva tested Munoz with a header
from 12 yards out. Munoz again made his save look easy.
Moments later though Los Tiburones Rojos opened up the scoring
with Leyva providing the assist. Leyva found a wide open Biscayzacu
who cut inside a defender then curled a right footed shot around
Munoz and just inside the right post to give Veracruz a 1-0 lead
heading into the locker rooms.
Now needing three goals to advance, Morelia pushed seven men into
the offensive third of the field looking for an early second half
equalizer and the momentum. The pressure again paid off with an
early corner kick, but again, Morelia could do nothing with it, and
never posed any real threat on goal.
Morelia continued to send balls into the box from the corner flag
and in the 56th minute Christian Nasuti rose above the crowd to win
a header, but sent his shot high and wide of the target.
Moments later Damien Alvarez played a driven cross through the
penalty area for Marquez to run onto. Again for Morelia, the shot
lacked accuracy as the header went over the bar scraping the top of
the net.
As the second half wore on, possession started to balance out and
as a result, the Morelia head coach Sergio Bueno went to his bench
bringing on attacker Mauricio Romero for defender Geraro Torres in
an attempt to revitalize the attack.
Morelia almost instantly created some offense when Alvarez fired
a shot from almost the same place that Biscayzacu scored from in the
first half. Alvarez's shot was less accurate though and Bernal got
the slightest of touches to the ball to put it just over the bar.
The game turned to the bizarre in the 70th minute when the
stadium lights went out. The lights remained off for close to 15
minutes before play resumed. The brief intermission didn't really
breath any life into either team, and play resumed much as it left
off.
Marquez squandered the best chance for Morelia in the 74th
minute. Marquez timed his run perfectly getting in behind the
Veracruz defense from only six yards out. Marquez fumbled his first
touch, forced himself into a sharp angle shot, then when he finally
did get his shot off, sent it well high and well wide. The sequence
was indicative of the night for Morelia who controlled the run of
play all night long.
Luck favored Los Tiburones too. In the 79th minute, Alvarez tried
to drive a low cross into the box. Veracruz defender Pablo
Quattrocchi blocked the cross, but deflected it off of the post.
Luckily for him and Veracruz, the ball merely glanced off the
upright and out of play for yet another Morelia corner kick.
As the game stretched into the final minutes, Morelia was
consigned to trying to play the role of spoiler, but even that hope
faded away as Veracruz locked things down in the back preserving
their lead and their place in Sunday's final. Veracruz now knows
they are just one step away from playing in the Copa Libertadores.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to InterLiga.com. This
story was not subject to the approval of the legaue or its
clubs.
MORELIA - VERACRUZ 0:1
01.11.2006: Carson, California; Home
Depot Center
Attendance: 8,620
Scoring summary:
VER- Gustavo Biscayzacú (44')
MOR: 23 - Moisés Muñoz (GK), 3 - Alejandro Pliego (6 -
Roberto Vargas, 70'), 4 - Humberto González, 8 - Gerardo Torres (28
- Mauricio Romero, 68'), 13- Christian Nasuti, 27 - Omar Trujillo, 5
- Wilson Mathias (10 - José Rosas, 46'), 15 - Fernando Arce, 7 -
Damián Alvarez, 9 - Rafael Márquez, 18 - Luis Gabriel Ray
DNP: 22 - Júnior Madrigal (GK), 14 - Ever Guzmán, 24 - Yasser
Corona, 26 - Johan Rodríguez,
TD: Sergio Bueno
VER: 1 - Jorge Bernal (GK), 3 - Pablo Quatrocchi, 4 -
Miguel Acosta, 8 - Joel Sánchez, 28 - Mario Rosales (11 - Braulio
Luna, 49'), 17 - Joaquín Reyes, 21 - Marco Jiménez, 24 - Rodrigo
Valenzuela, 26 - Lucas Ayala, 9 - Gustavo Biscayzacú (22 - Francisco
Bravo, 89'), 18 - Alejandro Leyva
DNP: 30 - Israel Villaseñor (GK), 5 - Manuel López, 14 - Omar
Rivera, 27 - Jorge Pérez, 42 - David Sánchez
TD: Alfredo Tena
Cingular Man of the Match: Gustavo Biscayzacú (Morelia)
Booked:
MOR - Arce (23'), Alvarez (50'), Romero
(92+')
VER - Leyva (36'), 26-Ayala (78')
Sent off: None
Statistics
MOR VER
Goal Attempts 7 4
Saves 2 2
Fouls 22 11
Corners 13 4
Offsides 2 0
R: Ricardo Salazar (USA)
A1: Paul Scott (USA)
A2: Jose
Corro (USA)
FO: Michael Kennedy (USA)