2017 Tour Aguilas match recap: Club America 4, Puebla 0

On a hot and humid afternoon on the banks of the Delaware River, Club America and Puebla squared off hoping to set the tone for their season. After 90 minutes, only America will be satisfied with their performance while Puebla will look to go back to the drawing board.

Puebla did well in possession early on, however were unable to capitalize on ther possession. America looked a bit on the back foot at first. A bright spot for Las Aguilas was the play of new central defensive midfielder Guido Rodriguez. Doing what he did all too often during his time with Club Tijuana, Rodriguez sat behind the offense and looked to clear up clearances by Puebla and shuttle the ball back in deep.

In the 24th minute, America was finally able to break through the Puebla defense. William da Silva was able to receive a pass from and hit it with his left foot, putting it past Fabian Villasenor into the corner of the net.

That goal changed the complexion of the match. America seemed to have more confidence on the ball going forward, however Puebla had some good looks of their own. In the 35th minute, Jonas Aguirre was sprung on the attack and drew Oscar Jimenez out, however Aguirre was unable to direct a shot on frame and Puebla remained down a goal going into the half.

Early in the second half, America would strike again as the rains started pouring down when Miguel Samudio made a great run down the left flank and cut the ball back to Silvio Romero, who was able to put another past Villasenor to give Las Aguilas a 2-0 lead as a rainbow emerged.

America wasn’t done. Moments after being subbed on, Alejandro Diaz got a great pass in from Miguel Samudio and hit it clean. Fabian Villasenor was again exposed and could do little to stop the shot and America was up 3-0.

All too often Puebla was wasteful with their chances, and when America would inevitably get a look on goal the Puebla defense would break down and expose Villasenor. This happened again in the 85th minute when Ricardo Marin was left alone, rifling one in past the Puebla goalkeeper to give America a 4-0. As the final whistle rang out, Club America fans were the much happier bunch. Their club will head to Salt Lake City to face off against Monarcas Morelia on Tuesday.

Club America: Oscar Jimenez; Paul Aguilar (Carlos Orrantia, 46’), Pablo Aguilar, Bruno Valdez (Enrique Cedillo, 62’), Carlos Vargas; Miguel Samudio (Ulises Torres, 76’), Guido Rodriguez (Manuel Perez, 63’) : William da Silva (Luis Amador, 57’), Pedro Arce (Renato Ibarra, 62’), Silvio Romero (Alejandro Diaz, 63’); Darwin Quintero (Diego Lainez, 57’)

Club Puebla: Fabian Villasenor; Alvaro Navarro (Federico Gonzalez, 55’), Brayan Angulo, Pablo Miguez, Francisco Acuna (Francisco Torres, 76’); Garardo Venegas (Hugo Rodriguez, 55’), Felix Micolta (Oscar Rojas, 71’), Daniel Guerrero, Jonas Aguirre; David Toledo, Gabriel Esparza

Scoring: Club America - William da Silva (23’), Silvio Romero (50’), Alejandro Diaz (66’), Ricardo Diaz (85’); Club Puebla - None

Disciplinary: Club America - None; Club Puebla - Felix Micolta (Yellow - 17’)