Necaxa down Tigres for clean sweep

CARSON, Calif. - What promised to be an entertaining, wide-open match turned out to be a rather pedestrian game between two clubs already thinking about Saturday's finals.

But while Necaxa already had clinched a spot in one of Saturday's matches, Tigres had their Libertadores dreams nearly shattered. Necaxa beat Tigres 1-0 in Tuesday's first InterLiga match.

Tigres finished the group stage on four points. Cruz Azul, who was slated to play Monterrey in the second match, entered the game with only a faint shot at second place. But Tigres' loss opened the door for Cruz Azul, who needed to win by two goals to wrap up second place.

Necaxa, meanwhile, is in a much better situation. Necaxa would win InterLiga and advance directly to Copa Libertadores in the Mexico 2 slot with a regulation win over a Group B side on Saturday.

Having already gone through to the final, Necaxa coach Jose Luis Trejo chose to rest Kleber Boas. The star striker had torn apart the competition in InterLiga thus far as the Tigres striker scored three goals in the first two games. With Kleber firmly on the bench, Necaxa lacked the rhythm and timing the club had enjoyed in the first two games.

It was not until the 34th minute that Necaxa had a chance but Fabiano Pereira's open header from eight yards out sailed well over the crossbar.

Tigres, meanwhile, needed just a draw to go through. As a result, the club played cautiously and did not throw numbers forward often. Jaime Lozano had Tigres' best scoring chances of the first half. In the 35th minute, Javier Saavedra knocked a free kick inside the penalty area. Lozano ran onto the cross and headed a shot on goal but Necaxa goalkeeper Ivan Vasquez snared the ball.

Lozano was again responsible for Tigres' next good scoring opportunity. In the 44th minute, Juan Pablo Garcia crossed the ball into the penalty area onto a hard-charging Lozano, but Lozano slammed a header inches wide of the right post.

Perhaps to add some more spice to the game, Trejo brought in Kleber as well as striker Alfredo Moreno into the match for the start of the second half.

Tigres coach Carrillo had apparently had enough of Garcia and took him out in favor of Aldo De Nigris.

Tigres nearly struck early in the second half. De Nigris powered a half volley just over the crossbar on a shot that Vasquez had no chance of stopping.

It was Moreno who finally broke the deadlock. In the 70th minute, Moreno pounced on a loose ball just inside the penalty area and rifled a shot past Tigres keeper Cirilo Sauceda and into the back of the net. It was Moreno's second goal in as many games. On Saturday, Moreno bagged the game-winner in Necaxa's 3-2 win over Monterrey.

Tigres could do little to counter. Necaxa dominated possession after Moreno's goal as Tigres were unable to take the ball from their red-clad counterparts. Tigres' attack was weakened even as Carrillo took out Lozano in the 73rd minute in favor of Enrique Escudero.

It took a questionable hand ball for Tigres to have another scoring opportunity. In the 77th minute, Walter Gaitan knocked the ball off a Necaxa defenders hand. Saavedra stepped up to take the free kick but sailed his attempt well over the goal.

With his three substitutions exhausted, Tigres' Carrillo could do little but stand and watch his team try aimlessly for an equalizer.

It nearly came in the 84th minute. Emmanuel Cerda had broken free of the last defender but could only hit a bouncing ball into the stands and not on goal.

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

01.09.2007: Home Depot Center, Carson, California
Attendance: 10,212

NECAXA - TIGRES 1:0
NEC - 10 - Alfredo Moreno, 69'
TIG - None

NEC: 1 - Ivan Vazquez (GK), 3 - Joaquin Beltran, 4 - Horacio Cervantes, 14 - Mario Perez, 20 - Osvaldo Lucas, 2 - Pablo Quattrocchi, 8 - Fabiano Pereira, 11 - Everaldo Barbosa, 16 - Gerardo Galindo (5 - Victor Gutierrez, 80'), 9 - Aaron Padilla (23 - Kleber Boas, 46'), 29 - Hector Jiménez (10 - Alfredo Moreno, 46')

DNP: 26 - Alexandro Alvarez (GK), 15 - Oscar Zea, 18 - Ricardo Navarro, 88 - Franky Oviedo

TD: Jose Luis Trejo

TIG: 25 - Cirilo Saucedo (GK), 3 - Sindey Balderas, 6 - Omar Briceno, 55 - Nicolas Ruvalcaba, 2 - Julio C. Caceres, 8 - Javier Saavedra, 10 - Walter Gaitan, 19 - Juan Montano (17 - Jesús Palacios, 58'), 21 - Jaime Lozano (26 - Enrique Escudero, 73'), 20 - Juan Pablo Garcia (11 - Aldo de Nigris, 46'), 39 - Emmanuel Cerda

DNP: 1 - Edgar Hernandez (GK), 35 - Jesús Chavez, 68 - Edgar Garcia, 80 - Luis Alvarez

TD: Mario Carrillo

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

Booked: None

Sent off: None