The Mexecutioner Does It Again

Javier Hernandez was once again the hero, as he took his tally of the competition to six goals, leading Mexico to the Gold Cup Semifinals.


It was a tough start for Mexico as Guatemala stunned them with a goal five minutes into the game and maintained its lead at the half, but Mexico scored twice in the second half, including the winner by Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, as it rallied to win, 2-1, tonight and advance to the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals before 78,807 at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Mexico will play Honduras on Wednesday in Houston for a berth in the final. Honduras defeated Costa Rica, 4-2 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 tie in the opening game.

Guatemala’s early goal stunned Mexico. Elias Vasquez drove a long ball down the center of the field from Guatemala’s side. Guatemala forward Carlos Ruiz and Mexico defender Hector Moreno battled for position at the top of the box as the ball came down.

Moreno stuck out his leg to knock the ball away, but he never made contact. At that point, Mexico goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera came sprinting off his line but Ruiz got to the ball first and, as he fell to the ground, volleyed it over Talavera’s head for a 1-0 lead.

“The team is very strong at the core. They know they can win under any adversity,” Mexico coach Jose Manuel de la Torre said. “The ealy goal put us back and made it complicated and heavy, but we knew we could come back, and we did.”

Guatemala nearly doubled the lead in the 34th minute but failed to convert on a quick counterattack.
Ruiz dribbled 50 yards down the center of the field, drawing the defense to him. Just before he got to the top of the arc, he slipped a pass to Marco Pappa in the left side of the box, but Pappa lined his shot into the near-side netting.

De la Torre inserted Aldo De Nigris into the game at the start of the second half and the move paid off.

Off a cross, Pablo Barrera volleyed the ball from the right side across the box to Moreno, whose header was punched away by Guatemala goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez. The ball fell to the ground and Moreno poked it on net. It rebounded out to De Nigris, who pushed it past Jerez for the tying goal.

                             It took 66 minutes, but order was finally restored.
Hernandez scored his tournament-high sixth goal in the 66th minute, redirecting a cross from the right by Barrera past Jerez for a 2-1 lead.

“The goal was just instinct. I saw the ball at my feet and put the ball in the net,” Hernandez said. “This time it was different than the other games when we scored first. We went in and we knew we had to work hard in the second half to get our chances.”