GUADALAJARA, Mexico – None of the Americans playing in Mexico’s first division experienced victory this weekend.
Jesús Padilla was a shock announcement in CD Guadalajara’s starting lineup on Sunday for their game against Morelia in the Estadio Omnilife, which finished 1-1.
Padilla played on the right of a three-man offense, but was quiet and made way for Erick Torres at halftime.
DaMarcus Beasley’s Puebla remain on only one point from four games after Cruz Azul snatched a late goal to win 1-0 at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc.
Puebla went down to 10 men just after the hour mark, but Beasley was a threat for the Poblanos, and had a good opportunity in the 72nd minute, but his shot went right at ‘keeper Yosgart Gutiérrez.
In Pachuca’s 2-2 draw against Club Tijuana, José Torres completed the first half for the Tuzos, while Joe Corona and Edgar Castillo both played 90 minutes for the Xolos.
Corona had a couple of half-chances for Tijuana in the first half, while Castillo occupied his usual left wingback spot and went close with an effort in the 40th minute that sailed just over the bar.
Over in San Luis, Michael Orozco Fiscal was on form in his team’s 1-1 draw against Monterrey on Saturday, going 84 minutes before being taken off. San Luis are still without a win in their first four games of the Apertura season.
Herculez Gomez’s Santos Laguna had a miserable Friday evening in León, going down 3-0 against the newly-promoted side. Gomez was hauled off after 56 minutes with the score at 1-0.
Beasley, Torres, Corona, Castillo, Orozco Fiscal and Gomez are all part of Klinsmann’s squad to play Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on Wednesday (7:30 pm ET, ESPN2).
Jonathan Bornstein remains in a battle to win minutes for Tigres UANL, but wasn’t in the 18-man squad this Saturday for the team’s 2-2 tie with Querétaro. His task of getting playing time is set to get more difficult with the return of Carlos Salcido from Mexico’s Olympic gold medal winning team.
In Mexico’s second division, Marco Vidal is settling in at Lobos BUAP and got another 90 minutes under his belt in the team’s 3-0 victory on Friday against Celeya, moving them to second in the Ascenso MX.
On Saturday, Mérida drew 0-0 against Pumas Morelos, with Sonny Guadarrama making way for fellow American Isaac Acuña after 71 minutes for the Venados.
In Colombia, goalkeeper Kevin Piedrahita continues to make waves. The 21-year-old started on Saturday against Once Caldas and kept a clean sheet in his team’s 1-0 victory. The win moved Itaguí into second position in the league after three matches.
Goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer was on the bench for Universidad Concepción’s 4-1 defeat against O’Higgins in Chile’s top flight, as was Diego Restrepo in Deportivo Táchira’s 2-1 loss against Llaneros in Venezuela’s first division.
Tom Marshall covers Americans playing in Latin America for MLSsoccer.com. E-mail him at tom.marshall.mex@gmail.com
