Club America avoided another loss by weathering a 2-0 deficit versus los Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz at and crunching out a 4-2 win Saturday night at Estadio Luis “Pirata” Fuente. Silvio Romero, Renato Ibarra and Darwin Quintero scored for las Aguilas with Romero scoring the first to goals to tie the game. In an uneven game, here’s my three takeaways from the comeback victory by America:
1)The red cards draw serious concern
Club America knows how to rack up red and yellow cards, as the reputation it built up last season suggests. Much of the turmoil in the first half of the game fell in part to Erik Pimentel’s red card 19 minutes into the game. Pimentel played a forgettable 19 minutes as Adrian Luna circled around Pimentel’s coverage to give Veracruz its first goal. Defensive mistakes happen, and his slide may have not warranted a straight red, but America’s history of poor discipline has shown its impact early in the season. In its first four games, America already has two reds. Both doubtful especially Pimentel’s as the line judge called for a throw-in instead of a foul. Pimentel’s absence hurt, and the team may see many more games like this where referees alter the entire landscape. In a season celebrating its history, America looks like it desperately needs some of it recent history to disappear to stay alive against its opponents.
2)Offense showed cohesion
After its 3-0 loss to Tigres, the offense lacked chemistry. Versus Veracruz Quintero and Romero ignited the comeback. In the first goal for America, Quintero retrieved a gaff by the goalkeeper and sent a perfectly lined crossed to a wide open Romero, and repeated another assist to Romero to tie the game. Paul Aguilar and Osvaldo Martinez came out of with an assist as well. Obviously having an extra man helped score the final two goals for America, but its first two goals came with one man down and even at 10 each. Quintero and Romero drop in front for a reason, and without Peralta, continuing to work these two players together as the main goal scorers can improve the consistency of the team and quality of the players overall.
3)America can outlast its opposition
In the first half, America has scored two goals in four games and in the second half, the team has scored six. Stamina has played a part in America’s early success. Los Tiburones played the second half completely different than the first and during a 10-minute stretch, the team couldn’t find a way to stop committing both tactical and mental mistakes. America’s fortunate escape received a boost from Veracruz’s errors, but the first four games present a different America adjusted to erase first half failures.