Mexico Match Thoughts: Monterrey vs. Morelia

In one of my earlier entries I explained that I was really trying to expand my footy horizons this year. Part of that is going to be paying a little closer attention to the Mexican league. I watched a few matches last season, but since my Spanish is more than rusty, I never paid really close attention unless the it was Cruz Azul or Monterrey, who wound up playing RSL in CONCACAF.

However, the more I've watched the more I understand, and hey, it's footy, so I'm really looking forward to taking in some more matches from south of the border this year. The first of these was Monterrey vs. Morelia.

One thing was crystal clear from the get go. Monterrey was the better side in all facets of the game. I mean hey, I saw these guys play live and beat RSL at home. Even Cruz Azul didn't manage that, so I have much respect for the CONCACAF Champs. They nearly grabbed the advantage early as well. Cardozo slotted home a goal in the 8th minute, but he was ruled offside. Replays were a little questionable, but we moved on. Offside would trouble Monterrey for most of the evening, as Cardozo and Humberto Suazo couldn't get their runs timed right.

Monterrey had a ton of possession in the first half, but really didn't have a lot of good, quality chances. In the 35th minute, they literally set up camp in the Morelia 18, but couldn't trigger a shot. Right before the half Suazo managed a nice looking strike, but it sailed just wide, ending the half at 0-0.

The second half was more of the same, except a little slower for most of it. Morelia looked desperate to claw into the match, but they had a hard time wrestling the ball away from Monterrey. They never really tested Orozco in goal.

Monterrey finally broke it open late, when Suazo helped his team capitalize on a Morelia turnover in the 84th minute. He slipped in, onside this time, and scored to make it 1-0 to Monterrey. Carreno added another in the 90th minute to ice it, the full time result being 2-0.

All in all a pretty fun match to watch and a hard earned win for Monterrey.