Necaxa claim InterLiga title with win

CARSON, Calif. - Kleber scored a brilliant first-half goal and Necaxa held off a late surge by Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday to capture the InterLiga title and claim a berth in the group phase of Copa Libertadores.

The Rayos escaped with a 1-0 victory in the first of two finals at a packed Home Depot Center to complete a perfect 4-0-0 run through the annual winter tournament that determines two of Mexico's three spots in South America's club championship.

Necaxa joins Toluca and the winner of Saturday's second game, pitting Club America against Tigres UANL, in Copa Libertadores. The Rayos advance to Group 2, in which they will battle Brazil's Sao Paulo, Chile's Audax Italiano and Peru's Alianza Lima.

Toluca, which beat America in a playoff last fall for Mexico's No. 1 berth in the tournament, is paired with Argentina's Boca Juniors, Bolivia's Bolivar and a Peruvian team to be determined in Group 7.

America or Tigres will face Peru's Sporting Cristal in a playoff later this month, the winner advancing to Group 1 with Argentina's Banfield, Paraguay's Libertad and Ecuador's El Nacional.

Necaxa, which endured difficult 2006 campaigns in Mexico's Primera Division, was the class of the tournament under new coach Jose Luis Trejo, who took charge when Hugo Sanchez was hired as Mexico's national team boss. The Rayos never trailed while defeating Cruz Azul, 3-2, Monterrey, 3-2, and Tigres, 1-0, en route to the top spot in Group 1.

Trejo, who resigned as Tigres coach during a horrid fall Apertura campaign after winning last spring's Clausura title with Pachuca, guided Cruz Azul to the Libertadores final in 2001.

This will be Necaxa's second Libertadores. The Rayos failed to escape the preliminary round in their first trip.

Kleber's tournament-best fourth goal came in the 39th minute, a blast from 22 yards to the upper-left corner from an Alfredo Moreno backheel.

Jaguares, which finished second in Group B with a 1-1-1 record, were outclassed the first half but applied heavy pressure much of the second, repeatedly finding their way into the Necaxa box but not past goalkeeper Ivan Vazquez.

They nearly equalized in second-half stoppage time. Walter Fretes, recovering the ball after his free kick had been expelled from the Necaxa box, found Alejandro Vela in the left corner, and Vela's cross to the far post was volleyed off the post by Gilberto Mora.

Javier Campora got to the rebound, but his shot was blocked by Mario Perez, who appeared to handle the ball. Jaguares pleaded with referee Ricardo Salazar for a penalty kick to no avail.

Kleber was the difference in the first half, coming close to scoring on several occasions and netting a beauty. Necaxa used smart passing combinations to break down Jaguares in midfield and create frequent opportunities while the Chiapas club struggled to penetrate the Rayos' organized backline.

Kleber went wide with a free kick from 28 yards in the fifth minute, a sizzling shot that Jaguares goalkeeper Omar Ortiz had covered at the near post, and Campora's shot was blocked after he beat two defenders in the box three minutes later.

Jaguares had two chances in the 21st minute, Vela's shot blocked to finish a nice sequence and Fabiano's header sailing wide on the following foray.

Kleber began taking charge shortly after, crashing the ball against the crossbar in the 24th minute. The ball bounced straight down, and looked like it might have crossed the goal line before bouncing out, but replays indicated the ball had ricocheted straight down onto the line.

Nine minutes later, Kleber worked open in the box after quick passes from Barbosa to Fabiano to Moreno and through, but Ortiz was positioned to make the save.

The sequence on the goal began with Barbosa on the right flank. Without a clear path to cross the ball, he dropped it back to Moreno just above the box. Moreno backheeled it with his first touch onto Kleber's path, and the Brazilian's shot left Ortiz no chance.

Jaguares' best chance arrived in the 44th minute. A Felipe Ayala cross from the left flank skimmed off defender Pablo Quattrocchi's head to Fabiano in front of the net. Necaxa goalkeeper Ivan Vasquez went down to his right to deny the shot.

Necaxa managed just one solid second-half opportunity, but Ortiz saved Moreno following a superb through ball from Kleber in the 80th minute.

Jaguares, meanwhile, had reorganized, with Vela and newcomer Walter Fretes causing havoc on the flanks and when they pushed inside.

Vela nearly scored in the 62nd and 64th minutes, but his dipping half-volley from Oscar Zea's feed just cleared the crossbar, and his volley from the left byline from Fretes' cross was saved by Vazquez at the near post.

Scott French is a contributor to InterLiga.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the tournament's organizers or clubs.

01.13.2007: Home Depot Center, Carson, California
Attendance: TBA

NECAXA - JAGUARES 1:0 (1:0)
NEC - 23 - Kleber Boas 39'
JAG - None

NEC: 1 - Ivan Vazquez (GK), 3 - Joaquin Beltran, 4 - Horacio Cervantes, 6 - Salvador Cabrera (15 - Oscar Zea, 65'), 20 - Osvaldo Lucas, 2 - Pablo Quattrocchi, 8 - Fabiano Pereira (13 - Luis O. Hernandez, 86'), 11 - Everaldo Barbosa, 16 - Gerardo Galindo (14 - Mario Perez, 81'), 10 - Alfredo Moreno, 23 - Kleber Boas

DNP: 26 - Alexandro Alvarez (GK), 9 - Aaron Padilla, 29 - Hector Jiménez, 88 - Franky Oviedo

TD: Jose Luis Trejo

JAG: 12 - Omar Ortiz (GK), 4 - Ismael Fuentes, 13 - Melvin Brown, 6 - Walter Fretes, 17 - Alejandro Corona (26 - Gilberto Mora, 78'), 27 - Jose de Jesús Gutierrez, 30 - Tomas Campos (25 - Edoardo Isella, 83'), 8 - Javier Campora, 9 - Ulises Mendivil (10 - Santiago Salcedo, 59'), 11 - Alejandro Vela

DNP: 1 - Esdras Rangel (GK), 2 - Christian Armas, 18 - Gabriel Palmeros, 34 - Juan Hernandez

DT: Eduardo De La Torre

Cingular Man of the Match: 10 - Alfredo Moreno (NEC)

Booked:
NEC - 11 - Everaldo Barbosa 39'; 23 - Kleber Boas 71'
JAG - 17 - Alejandro Corona 38'; 4 - Ismael Fuentes 48'; 15 - Felipe Ayala 67'

Sent off: None