Two headers in a very active second half sealed a 1-1 tie between Mexico and Venezuela in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif. The draw marked the third straight undefeated game for Mexico under new head coach José Manuel de la Torre.
Second-half sub Aldo de Nigris put El Tri up in the 58th minute, while center back Oswaldo Vizcarrondo scored the equalizer for La Vinotinto in the 73rd.
Donning their new black kits, Mexico made a few changes to the starting lineup, going with a striking corps of youth and speed led by none other than golden boy Javier “Chicharito” Hernández.
The backline was anchored by New York Red Bulls defender/midfielder Rafa Márquez for the first 45, thus recording his 101st cap with El Tri. Leading Venezuela’s attack for 77 minutes was Chivas USA forward Alejandro Moreno.
The opening minutes were marked by imprecision on both ends. Neither Mexico nor Venezuela could string together more than three passes as each pressed to try to go up early on the scoreboard.
Mexico’s best chance of the half would come at the feet of Hernández in the 16th minute. The Manchester United striker came up with the ball after a mistake by the defense and went unguarded into the left side of the box. Hernández tried to curl it around the goalkeeper José Morales and inside the far post, but his hard shot went high above the crossbar.
The teams then settled into a rhythm: Mexico dominated much of the possession and used their speed to trouble Venezuela, while Venezuela kept a defensive lock and tried to counter Mexico when possible. Neither, though, was unable to break the tie before halftime.
While Venezuela opted to stay with the same 11 that started, Mexico came out for the second half with a handful of changes that brought some life to El Tri.
[inline_node:332399]In the 49th minute, two of Mexico’s second-half subs, de Nigris and Carlos Vela, combined nicely to nearly put El Tri on top. Vela’s cross from the left side was chopped down by a defender, but de Nigris headed the ball on a high bounce above Morales’ outstretched arm and just over the bar.
It would finally be de Nigris in the 58th minute that would give Mexico the 1-0 lead. With Morales lost on the play, de Nigris beat his marker and rose to meet Giovani dos Santos’ lofted cross just a couple of yards away from the goal.
That goal ignited a spark in the Venezuelan attack and the South Americans looked for an immediate response. Giácomo Di Giorgi and Gabriel Cichero each took a turn at unleashing hard shots from distance, but each was denied by Mexico goalie Memo Ochoa.
Not to be outdone, Giovani took hold of the ball in the 68th minute and snaked his way through the Venezuela defense and fired. His shot was partially blocked by Morales, but the deflected ball made it through and hit the post.
Just moments later, Venezuela would threaten the goal again before finally breaking through.
First, second-half sub Yohandri Orozco rung the crossbar with a free kick. Then, in the 73th minute, Vizcarrondo lost his marker and Ochoa to headed in the equalizer with authority.
Mexico had another go in them before the final whistle. With less than seven minutes remaining, Vela again sent in a cross from the left side of the 18, but his pass nearly ended in a Venezuela own-goal as Cichero accidently poked it straight onto the post.
Scoring Summary:
MEX -- De Nigris, 58'
VEN -- Vizcarrondo, 73'
Lineups:
Mexico — Memo Ochoa, Efraín Juárez, Rafa Márquez (Édgar Dueñas, 46’), Héctor Moreno, Carlos Salcido, Pablo Barrera (Nestor Calderón, 82’), Luis Ernesto Pérez, Gerardo Torrado (Israel Castro, 46’), Andrés Guardado (Carlos Vela, 46’), Giovani Dos Santos (Sinha, 70’), Javier Hernández (Aldo de Nigris, 46’)
Venezuela — José Morales, Roberto Rosales (Franklin Lucena, 82’), Grenndy Perozo, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, Gabriel Cichero, Ángel Chourio (Jesús Gómez, 61’), Tomás Rincón, Giácomo Di Giorgi, Luis Manuel Seijas (Yohandri Orozco, 66’), Alejandro Moreno (Daniel Arismendi, 77’), Nicolás Fedor (Evelio Hernández, 85’)
