In the second game of InterLiga 2009, both UAG Tecos and Pachuca were in search of their first-ever wins in the event. However, after the final whistle, it was the Tuzos who came away with a 4-0 win Friday night at Pizza Hut Park.
"We are happy," said Pachuca FC forward Edgar Benitez, who scored the game's first goal. "Everyone always works to do this again, especially for the team. Everything went the way we wanted it to and I think that we're going to keep on looking at it that way."
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Pachuca's first tally of the evening came in the 16th minute when Edgar Benitez, a Paraguayan striker playing in his first official game with the Tuzos, scored his first goal for his new employer.
Benitez's score started when Pachuca midfielder Jose Cardenas sent in a cross from the right flank. That ball was redirected by a header, which landed at the feet of Tecos defender Randy Santana. His clearance was off the mark and went right to Benitez, who quickly pounded the ball into the left side of the net to give the Tuzos a 1-0 edge.
"I feel good playing with my teammates," Benitez said. "I think I've been working and everything came together well. I think as a team, we played a great match. We're going to keep working to continue to win and make the Copa Libertadores. We will keep working for the next match because it will be a difficult one against Toluca."
In the 48th minute, Pachuca added a second goal, this one coming from defender Marco Perez. A well-placed corner kick by Edy Brambila was met at the far post by Perez, who headed the ball squarely and knocked it into the far side of the net.
In the 57th minute, the Tuzos' offensive continued when Brambila scored to make it 3-0. His goal was set up when teammate Paul Aguilar made a great dash up the right side of the pitch. An attempted cross by Aguilar was deflected by Tecos defender Diego Jiminez and went back to Aguilar, who then spotted Brambila open inside the 18 and just before going over the endline, made a pinpoint pass to his teammate. Brambila then calmly converted the chance, sending it into the far side of the net for his side's third goal of the night.
In the 89th minute, Pachuca struck paydirt one final time. Tuzos forward Ulises Mendivil and Victor Manon were in perfect precision. Mendivil played the role of table-setter after a furious advance up the left flank. Manon received his cross inside the box and beat Corona far post for his side's fourth goal of the night.
Tecos' best opportunity of the first half came just before the break when defender Diego Jiminez broke free to the right of the Pachuca goal. His shot, which was struck squarely with plenty of pace, went wide right.
Even after building a daunting three-goal lead, the Tuzos never let up. In the 65th minute, Benitez had two bids for his second goal of the night turned away. The first came during a one-on-one chance when he was denied at close range by Tecos goalkeeper Jose Corona. After the ensuing carom, the Paraguyan forward got another chance but this one was cleared off the endline by Tecos midfielder Rafael Medina.
"I think it was a great game," Pachuca FC midfielder Francisco Torres said. "We played against a good team. I think we came out motivated to do good things and it's a good thing that we won."
The game was a special one for Torres, who hails from Longview, Texas, which is about two and a half hours from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The native Texan had a sizeable cheering section in attendance and wanted to send his fans home happy.
"I'm happy and thankful that my family came out," Torres said. "They're happy to see me play. Thank God we won today. I don't know. I was just very happy to come out, see my family and to play here in Texas."
In the 87th minute, Tecos nearly kept this one from finishing as a shutout. Midfielder Marcelo Sosa put his full force behind a shot from near the top of the arc. But his effort hit the far post and went over the endline.
Tecos finished the night with just six shots compared to 14 by the Tuzos. Despite the blowout loss, Herrera is far from ready to raise the white flag.
"We have to work hard and have to regroup," Herrera said. "We have to do it fast because in two to three days, we are playing another game. We have to pick our heads up and look to get a result to get back into it. Our goal doesn't change. We have to work. We have to improve every day until we reach what we showed in the previous season."
Even with a 4-0 win to start play in InterLiga 2009, Torres admits that there are still some things the Tuzos can improve on before they hit the field again on Monday evening. "We started a little bit lazy," he admitted. "I think we went out a little bit off. In the second half, we came out strong and we started playing soccer like we know how."
With Friday's loss, Tecos drops to 0-1-2 all-time in InterLiga and are now 0-1-1 in their opening match of the event. Pachuca's InterLiga record is now 1-2-1 and the Tuzos are 1-1-0 in their first InterLiga matches.
Both teams return to the field on Monday at Robertson Stadium in Houston. Tecos will face Morelia, who played Toluca to a 1-1 draw in the opening match in Frisco, at 7 PM CT. In the nightcap, Pachuca will face Los Diablos Rojos. That one has a 9:30 PM CT first kick. Both matches can be seen live on Fox Sports Espanol.
Game 2: UAG TECOS - PACHUCA 0:4
01.2.2009: Frisco, TX - Pizza Hut Park
Attendance/ Asistencia: 6,073; R: Baldomero Toledo (USA)
G: 10-Edgar Benitez (PAC), 16'; 4-Marco Ivan Perez (PAC), 48'; 27-Edy Brambila (PAC), 58'; 29-Victor Omar Manon (PAC), 90'
UAG: 1-Jose de Jesús Corona, 2-Randy Scott Santana (6-Nelson Pinto, 54'), 8-Joel Sanchez, 10-Mario Ortiz, 15-Rafael Medina (19-Arnhold Rivas, 65'), 16-Fredy Barreiro, 17-Daniel Alcanzar, 18-Jorge Zamogilny (11-Rodrigo Ruiz, 46'), 20-Elgabry Rangel, 21-Diego Jiménez, 5-Marcelo Sosa.
PAC: 30-Rodolfo Cota, 2-Leobardo Lopez, 4-Marco Ivan Perez, 8-Gabriel Caballero, 11-Jose Maria Cardenas, 16-Carlos Gerardo Rodríguez, 10-Edgar Benitez (9-Ulises Medivil, 79'),18-Jose Francisco Torres, 22-Paul Aguilar, 27-Edy Brambila (15-Luis Montez, 73'), 21-Blaz Perez (29-Victor Omar Manon, 84').
