Victory gives Necaxa berth in finals

Brazilian striker Kleber continued his torrid play in InterLiga on Saturday by scoring twice, and Alfredo Moreno scored a sizzling winner as the Rayos took command of Group A with a 3-2 victory over Monterrey in the second game of a doubleheader at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

Kleber provided 39th- and 50th-minute leads and Moreno netted the winner in the 78th as Necaxa (2-0-0), a 3-2 winner over Cruz Azul in their opener Tuesday in Houston, clinched a berth in one of next Saturday's twin finals at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Monterrey (0-2-0), which answered Kleber's first goal within seconds via a Jesus Arellano strike and the second with Luis Perez's 70th-minute penalty kick, was eliminated from contention for a berth in Copa Libertadores, South America's club championship.

Necaxa opened a two-point lead in Group A on two-time defending InterLiga titlist Tigres UANL (1-0-1), which it meets in Tuesday's group finale in Carson. Cruz Azul (0-1-1), which takes on Monterrey on Tuesday, also remains in the hunt for a Libertadores berth.

Kleber, one of few bright spots for Necaxa in the Mexican Primera Division's fall Torneo Apertura, improved his tournament total to three goals and his all-time Interliga total to five, and he was unfortunate not have more.

Moreno's winning goal, a second effort after Monterrey goalkeeper Jonathan Emmanuel Orozco halted his first shot near the top of the box, came from an incisive Fabiano pass that split two defenders.

It was a scintillating match, filled with chances and superb goals, but it didn't start as such. Few chances developed in the first 20 minutes of what began as a dry encounter - Monterrey's Ernesto Serrato fired wide left in the 10th minute, Necaxa's Salvador Cabrera in the 12th - before things turned thrilling. The teams traded chances the last 20 minutes of the half, with Necaxa, behind Kleber and Everaldo Barbosa, generally the more dangerous side.

Kleber and Barbosa nearly gave Necaxa an advantage two minutes apart. Kleber fired high after a give-and-go left him open in the 24th minute, and Orozco knocked away a well-placed chip by Barbosa, who had beaten William Paredes on the right side of the box.

Orozco came up big again in the 29th, stopping Horacio Cervantes' header from a Barbosa corner kick.

Monterrey was just off target on its chances. Hugo Rodallega fired wide left when given an open shot in the 27th, then headed over the crossbar from Arellano's free kick in the 33rd. Perez volleyed past the far post with a cheeky shot from the left wing in the 37th.

The goals came one after the other. Necaxa struck first, with Cabrera lofting a perfect pass from Rayos territory up the left wing into Fabiano's path. Fabiano, just beyond the Monterrey box, nodded the ball ahead with his first touch, then sent the ball through the goalmouth with his second - ahead of three defenders and just beyond Orozco's reach. Kleber, near the right post, volleyed it low into the open net.

Monterrey equalized from the kickoff, with Arellano, on the right wing, chipping inside the far post from a difficult angle after his attempted pass across the top of the box was deflected back to him.

The Rayados nearly scored another in the 42nd, but Necaxa goalkeeper Ivan Vazquez made a reaction save as Carlos Ochoa turned and fired from the top of the box from Rodallega's feed from the right wing.

Kleber almost fired Necaxa ahead again in the 49th minute, but Orozco dived to turn away his 26-yard free kick at the right post. The Monterrey keeper could do nothing on the ensuing corner kick: Barbosa's cross found Kleber deep in the box, and the Brazilian forward outmaneuvered Santiago Banos and half-volleyed into the far-side netting.

It might have stood if Luis Omar Hernandez hadn't toppled Rodallega in Necaxa's box in the 69th minute. Referee Alex Prus didn't hesitate pointing to the spot, and Perez's blistering penalty kick caromed off Vazquez's arm and into the net.

Necaxa, which held on against Cruz Azul after opening a three-goal lead early in the second half, responded eight minutes later. Fabiano, on a right-wing counterattack, sent a diagonal ball to Moreno. Orozco got a piece of his shot, but the ball got behind him, and Moreno slipped between two defenders to poke it home.

The goal guaranteed Necaxa, a disappointment in its previous InterLiga appearances, in 2005 and 2006, will play on the final day of the InterLiga. The Rayos are aiming for their second Libertadores berth.

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

01.06.2007: Pizza Hut Park, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 13,180

NECAXA - MONTERREY 3:2
NEC- 23-Kleber Boas (39', 50'), 10-Alfredo Moreno (78')
MTY- 28-Jesus Arellano (40'), 8-Luis Perez (PK-70')

NEC: 1- Ivan Vazquez, 3- Joaquin Beltran, 4- Horacio Cervantes, 6- Salvador Carbrera, 8- Fabiano Pereira (15 Oscar Zea 80'), 11- Everaldo Barbosa, 13- Luis O. Hernandez (16 Gerardo Galindo 73'), 14- Mario Perez, 20- Osvaldo Lucas, 23- Kleber Boas, 10- Alfredo Moreno (29 Hector Jiménez 85')

DNP: 5 Victor Gutierrez, 9 Aaron Padilla, 26 Alexandro Alvarez, 179 Fernando Morales

TD: Jose Luis Trejo

MON: 1- Jonathan Orozco, 7- Santiago Banos, 21- Diego Ordaz, 14- Joel Morales, 18- Walter Ervitti (19 Leandro Gracian 55'), 30- Ernesto Serrato (10 Rolando Zarate 67'), 8- Luis Perez, 22- William Paredes, 28- Jesús Arellano, 9- Carlos Ochoa, 11 Hugo Rodallega

DNP: 2 Severo Meza, 3 Pierre Ibarra, 16 Christian Martinez, 35 Carlos Alanis, 52 Carlos Vela

TD: Miguel Herrera

Cingular Man of the Match: 23-Kleber Boas (Necaxa)

Booked:
NEC - 11-Everaldo Barbosa 34', 13-Luis O. Hernandez 69'
MTY - 14-Joel Morales 58', 28-Jesus Arellano 61'

Sent off:
None