Monterrey claimed the final berth for InterLiga's twin finals with a 2-1 victory over Group B winner Puebla, rallying from an early deficit to keep alive its hopes of reaching Copa Libertadores for the first time since 1999.
The Rayados (1-0-2), who last month won the Mexican Primera Division's Apertura championship, triumphed on Osvaldo Martinez's strike in the first minute of stoppage and advanced to meet Group A winner Club America (2-0-1) in the second of Wednesday's finals at Home Depot Center.
"I'm happy with this first stage, but at the same time we must focus for our next opponent, America," Monterrey coach Victor Manuel Vucetich said. "It's going to be a highly contested game. America really wants to go to Copa Libertadores ... and one of the key points is going to be intensity. It will be up to us to match their intensity."
Before just 9,373 at HDC, Juan Carlos Garcia gave Puebla a fifth-minute lead, and Monterrey, which would have advanced with a 1-1 tie or 2-1 defeat - but not with a 1-0 loss - pulled even on Luis Ernesto Perez's penalty kick in the 33rd minute.
Vucetich's second-half substitutes made the difference, with Paraguayan youngster Martinez, Argentine winger Neri Cardozo and veteran forward Aldo de Nigris providing the Rayados a boost after a difficult start.
Puebla (2-1-0) had clinched the Group B title with wins over Tigres UANL in Frisco, Texas, and Jaguares in Houston, and Los Comoteros can claim their first Libertadores trek with a win in Wednesday's opener against Group A runner-up Estudiantes Tecos (1-1-1).
America, seeking its seventh Copa Libertadores berth since Mexican teams were first invited to participate in South America's club championship 12 years ago, would win its second InterLiga title in three years and claim the "Mexico 2" spot in the Libertadores with a victory Wednesday. The "Mexico 3" spot, which if America wins would go to Puebla or Tecos, has what is considered an easier draw in the Libertadores.
The 2-2 draw between Jaguares and Tigres in Sunday's opener simplified thiongs for Monterrey. Jaguares remained alive with that result, but anything other than a loss by 1-0 or by two or more goals favored the Rayados.
Former MLS forward Herculez Gomez made his Puebla debut, seeing one good scoring opportunity before he departed in the 71st minute, replaced by former Los Angeles Galaxy teammate Carlos Ruiz. Gomez, who also played for the Colorado Rapids and the past two seasons with the Kansas City Wizards, completed his move to the Mexican club just after New Year's.
The result meant little to Puebla, and coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola left Ruiz - the club's top returning goalscorer - on the bench and 36-year-old Uruguayan forward Alvaro Gonzalez out of the team. Ruiz and Gonzalez scored two goals apiece in the win over archrival Tigres.
"I need to know how many players we have, because we have two tournaments (if we qualify for Copa Libertadores)," Puebla coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola said. "The team always goes out there to win, but today we went out there to earn points and earn players in our team.
"(Using some new players) was today's earnings. When Puebla wins, we win double. And when we lose, we lose just once."
Monterrey was playing its first match since Chilean forward Humberto Suarez's move to Spain's Real Zaragoza became official.
Puebla was far more coherent from the start, using combinations - largely sparked by midfielder Sergio Rosas - to unlock paths into Monterrey's box, and it paid off right away.
Rosas' dazzling footwork on the right flank led to a give-and-go with Orlando Rincon, with Rosas then splitting two defenders with a return pass toward the byline. Rincon drilled a low cross toward the near post, and Garcia, with Duilio Davino on his back at the edge of the six-yard box, redirected the ball into the net.
Puebla couldn't do nearly as much with its other opportunities. Rincon's ball up the right wing in the 19th minute sent Rodrigo Salinas racing toward Monterrey's box; he beat Jose Maria Basanta, and his cross was rewarded with a corner kick. Roberto Carlos Juarez's sharp header from Felipe Ayala's corner sailed straight to goalkeeper Omar Ortiz.
Gomez linked well with his new teammates, but his touch was far from perfect. His poor service killed a counterattack in the 12th minute, and he blasted far off target on long shots in the 29th and 40th minutes.
But he nearly scored in the 15th minute, firing just past the left post with a nifty chest trap-and-turn move inside Monterrey's box.
"You're around quality players, and they put you in quality positions," Gomez said. "So I'm just going to keep working hard, and hopefully I'll find myself in a position like that and put the next one away."
Monterrey struggled to find penetration. Puebla's high-pressure defense led to horrid passing, and connections among the midfielders, wings and front line appeared severed.
Finally, Sergio Santana took off on his own, making a rumbling run past a couple of defenders and into Puebla's box. He collided with Juarez, went down, and referee Kevin Stott immediately pointed to the spot.
Perez, Monterrey's captain, fired just inside the left post. Goalkeeper Alexandro Alvarez didn't bother to move.
"Puebla is a team that's always on top of you, constantly pressuring," Vucetich said. "We really needed to break that pressure, break their rhythm, to get into our flow of the game. We could have scored more goals, but I think the score was very much in our favor."
The goal seemed to give the Rayados confidence and some measure of command in midfield, although nothing concrete came of it until the second half. The 1-1 scoreline worked for both sides, and although there was ample action in the second half, chances were rare.
Monterrey made sure to gets its carded players off the field, to ensure they'd be eligible for the game against America - midfielder Walter Ayovi, cautioned midway through the first half, was gone at halftime, and Davino departed was pulled moments after he saw yellow for knocking down Gomez - but Vucetich's changes were all attack-minded.
Cardozo was a handful after coming on for Ayovi, and Martinez's winner was reward for a fine final 25 minutes.
"The objective was to win the game," Vucetich said. "All the changes were to win the game."
The Rayados nearly went ahead in the 59th and 75th minutes, but Cardozo fired wide from the top of box off Dario Carreno's cross, and de Nigris' header from a corner kick was pushed aside by Alvarez.
Puebla came close in the 48th, when Ortiz had to tip a deflected free kick over his crossbar, and Rosas caught the goalkeeper off his line in the 73rd, but his shot from 45 yards sailed just over the bar.
Martinez netted the winner after Carreno - just behind and to the left of Martinez in the Puebla box - chested down Cardozo's cross from the right flank.
The winners of Wednesday's matches will be among five Mexican clubs in this year's Copa Libertadores. Morelia qualified straight from the fall Apertura, and Chivas de Guadalajara and San Luis received invitations into the final 16 after they withdrew last year heading into knockout stages because of problems related to the H1N1 epidemic.
Morelia will open Libertadores play Feb. 10 at Argentine club Banfield. Its other Group 6 opponents are Nacional (Uruguay) and Deportivo Cuenca (Ecuador).
The InterLiga champion will take the "Mexico 2" slot in Copa Libertadores and face Sao Paulo (Brazil), Nacional (Paraguay) and Once Caldas (Colombia) in Group 2. The opener is Feb. 10 at Sao Paulo.
The "Mexico 3" slot has arguably an easier path to the knockout stage. It must face Juan Aurich in a preliminary-round playoff, Jan. 27 in Peru and Feb. 3 at home, but would advance to Group 3, against defending champion Estudiantes de La Plata (Argentina) and two lesser sides, Bolivar (Bolivia) and Alianza Lima (Peru). The opener would be Feb. 11 at Estudiantes.
Scott French is a contributor to InterLiga.com.
