REAL SAN LUIS FC vs TIGRES UANL
Group Stage - GROUP A - Match 6
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 9:30 p.m. CT
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill.
REFEREE: Ricardo Arellano (MEX)
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Pedro Rebollar (MEX); Carlos Fidel Moreno (MEX)
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Abbey Okulaja (USA)
Fresh off their surprising victory against Chivas USA, Tigres UANL will take on Real San Luis FC looking to earn their place in the semifinals of SuperLiga 2009. Over history, Tigres have not had much success against San Luis, but did defeat them in their last league meeting.
Real San Luis FC
San Luis technical director Juan Antonio Luna said he thought his team played well despite it being their first competitive match since the end of the 2009 Clausura. "It was a well-disputed match for us. It took a little bit for us to get started," Luna said. "We've come from 21 days of vacation and about 15 of preseason, but after the first 30 minutes we began to raise our level of play. In the end one personal mistake cost us the goal." Like the Fire, San Luis had eight shots on target for the match (though they were outshot 17-11 in total attempts). However they couldn't find their way past Chicago goalkeeper Jon Busch. "Of the things I liked best about the game was that in the second half the team was more intense, more aggressive. The team created, but games are won by scoring goals, and we didn't score tonight," Luna said. San Luis came out of the opening match with a positive outlook toward Tuesday's match against Mexican rival Tigres UANL. "It was a good game for us. We are coming right off preseason but tonight I think we played a good game as we were able to connect some good passes and created chances to score," U.S. international defender Michael Orozco said. "It's the last touch that is lacking something. We'll look to work on that to get better in our next game against Tigres because we've come here to win this tournament."
Tigres UANL
Despite fielding a team full of young players, Tigres trainer Carlos Turrubiates was pleased with their response in coming back for a 2-1 victory against Chicago. "It was a tough game, as we expected it to be against an opponent like Chivas USA," said Tigres UANL trainer Carlos Turrubiates. "But we have a very strong, unified group. We had quick movement and a very solid structure in the midfield. Those were the keys to us being able to win this match." Still, he said it was a result he did not expect. "The truth is that I wasn't expecting this result, but I am really pleased with this young team's performance," said Turrubiates. "I told my players that this was an opportunity for them to come out and show what they have, and I think they took advantage of that opportunity tonight. I'm very proud of them for that." With Tigres facing relegation without a good year, they chose to run out a team averaging 19 years of age, with no player older than 26, to kick off SuperLiga. "It was a decision made by our coaching staff, headed up by our new head coach Daniel Guzman," said Turrubiates. "This tournament comes in the middle of our preseason and the coach decided it was not a good idea to interrupt the first team's preparation at this point. It's a decision that allows our first team to continue its preparation and our young players to gain some experience."
State of play
With victories against rivals from their own league, the Chicago Fire and Tigres UANL can all but secure passage to the SuperLiga semifinals on Tuesday, when they take on Chivas USA and Real San Luis respectively. If both teams win a second game, the Group A semifinalists will be set.
Previous encounters
The teams last met in Clausura 2009 on Feb. 14 at Estadio Universitario in Monterrey, when Juan Pablo Garcia's goal in the 73rd minute gave Tigres a 1-0 victory. In 14 meetings all-time, San Luis has won five, Tigres has won three, and six games have been drawn. The last previous Tigres victory against San Luis had come in Apertura 2005.
