Cruz Azul fight back, draw Tigres

FRISCO, Texas - Cruz Azul kept alive their dream of advancing past the first round of InterLiga for the first time with a 2-2 draw against Tigres UANL Saturday night at Pizza Hut Park.

The odds seemed to be against the Cementeros early on, as Tigres took a 2-0 lead midway through the first half thanks to goals from Jaime Lozano and Aldo De Nigris. But Cruz Azul fought back with an Israel Lopez goal just before halftime and another from Miguel Sabah early in the second half to earn a point.

The clubs seemed to have opposite fortunes in the tournament prior to the match. The Cementeros were coming off a 3-2 loss to Necaxa on Wednesday in Houston had never won an InterLiga match, having gone 0-2-2.

Tigres, on the other hand, are the two-time defending champions of InterLiga and were fresh off a 2-0 win over crosstown rival Monterrey on Wednesday in Houston. With their last victory, they had won five straight InterLiga matches heading into Saturday's affair.

The Cementeros were without two key players for the match. Newly signed forward Jared Borgetti, who has not yet been cleared to play by Mexican federation, remained unavailable. Borgetti recently signed with Cruz Azul after playing several months in Saudi Arabia.

Also, earlier in the day, the Cementeros learned that defender Salvador Carmona, who delivered a hard elbow to the face of Necaxa midfielder Everaldo Barbosa in a 3-2 loss on Wednesday in Houston, would miss three games because of a suspension for that foul.

Early on, it looked like the champs would run away with the game. Lozano's goal in the 12th minute came after an earlier shot in the sequence by teammate Rogelio Chavez was deflected by a Cruz Azul defender. That carom fell at Lozano's feet and he fired a quick shot that beat Cementeros goalkeeper Yosgart Gutierrez at the far post to make it 1-0.

Lozano also figured in Tigres' second goal, which came in the 23rd minute. He took a free kick from near the right touchline and found a leaping De Nigris in the middle of the field. De Nigris executed a perfect header that sailed over Gutierrez's head to make it 2-0.

But the Cementeros weren't about to go quietly into the balmy Texas night. After falling behind by two goals, the Cruz Azul offense awakened and started pushing the ball up the field. Their diligent efforts paid off just before halftime when Lopez converted off a direct free kick to cut Tigres' advantage to a single goal at 2-1.

Lopez lined up about 30 yards from the opposing goal and sent a curling blast into the box. His effort caught Tigres goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo out of position and hooked inside the far post, just out of Saucedo's reach for the score.

After the break, Cruz Azul hit the pitch on a mission and seized control of possession almost immediately after the opening whistle of the second half. In the 51st minute, Cementeros forward Sabah was the recipient of a perfect pass from midfielder Richard Nunez and converted to level the match at 2-2.

After Sabah's tally tied the match, the Cementeros continued controlling the run of play. They also did an outstanding job of limiting the Tigres' counterattack, which the Monterrey side had used so effectively in the opening half of play.

In the 60th minute, Tigres attempted to jump start their now-lethargic attack by sending star midfielder Walter Gaitan into the match, but Gaitan was hardly a factor for his side down the stretch.

Cruz Azul got several great opportunities to take the lead in the second half, but none of those came to fruition. The Cementeros actually finished the match with more shots (15) than Tigres, who ended the evening with 13.

Tigres did get one last shot at leaving Frisco with the win when in the 90th minute, they were awarded a free kick just outside the Cementeros box. The first, which was booted by Lozano, was waived off when the referee determined that the Cruz Azul wall was less than 10 yards off the ball.

Lozano then lined up for a second try, but this time his effort deflected off a Cementeros player and scooted harmlessly into the middle of the pitch.

While the tie doesn't do a whole lot for Tigres' chances at advancing to the InterLiga finals for the third straight year, they do still stand a good chance. For Cruz Azul, the draw kept their hopes alive, but they'll need a win and some help on the final Group A match day.

The Cementeros have just one point after two games and depending on the outcome of the Necaxa/Monterrey match later on Saturday, will either find themselves third or fourth in the Group A standings with one match remaining in the group stage.

They'll play Monterrey in the second game of the night on Tuesday at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., at 11:15 p.m. ET. Tigres will play Necaxa in the first game at 9 p.m.

Steve Hunt is a contributor to InterLiga.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the tournament organizers or clubs.

01.05.2007: Pizza Hut Park, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 13,180

TIGRES - CRUZ 2:2
TIG- 21-Jaime Lozano (13'), 11- Aldo de Nigris (24')
CA- 5- Israel Lopez (45+'), 11- Miguel Sagah (51')

TIG: 25- Cirilo Saucedo, 6- Omar Briceno, 5- Fabian Cubero, 3- Sindey Balderas, 15- Mario Ruiz, 21- Jaime Lozano, 8- Javier Saavedra (10- Walter Gaitan 60'), 35- Jesús Chavez, 55- Nicolas Ruvalcaba (19- Juan Montano 68'), 11- Aldo de Nigris (26- Enrique Escudero 70'), 39- Emmanuel Cerda

DNP: 17- Jesús Palacios, 20- Juan Pablo Garcia, 1- Edgar Hernandez, 80- Luis Alvarez

TD: Mario Carrillo

CA: 25- Yosgart Gutierrez, 2- Alberto Rodriguez, 3- Joel Huiqui, 4- Julio C. Dominguez, 5- Israel Lopez, 6- Gerardo Torrado, 9- Richard Núñez (23- Gerardo Lugo 83'), 10- Gabriel Pereyra (18- Edgar Andrade 89'), 11- Miguel Sabah, 16- Rogelio Chavez, 24 Luis. A. Orozco

DNP: 26- Gabino Velasco, 17- Hector Lopez, 1- Oscar Perez, 22- Jose M. Ramirez, 47- Roberto Caceres

TD: Isaac Mizrahi

Cingular Man of the Match: 21-Jaime Lozano (Tigres)

Booked:
TIG - 5-Fabian Cubero (56'), 15-Mario Ruiz (81')
CA - 3-Joel Huiqui (23'), 6-Gerardo Torrado (71'), 5-Israel Lopez (75')

Sent off:
None