Mexico back on track with goal fest against Grenada

Mexico came back from their disappointing draw against Jamaica to beat Grenada 8-0. Knowing that with the draw versus Jamaica that goal differential would be key, Mexico turned things around a got a handy victory. While Mexico didn’t play particularly well in the first half, they totally dominated the second as they exploited the lack of condition of Grenadian players. Mexico will now face Aruba for the final game of the Group Stage on Saturday.

After Mexico was only able to get a tie against Jamaica, goal differential will now be a defining factor if they plan to get to the next round. Mexico needed to bounce back against a Grenada team that has been a complete uncertainty. They first started the tournament with a great result against Jamaica, in which they almost left with a point before losing 1-0. They then lost against an Aruba team that was expected to be the inferior team. Finally, they crushed Saint Martin by a 5-2 score.

Like with Saint Martin, Mexico once again took advantage off terrible set piece defending and scored the 1-0.

Mexico then continued to try to score goals, but like the last three games, they showed some problems in cohesion, especially in the midfield. And once again Diego Lainez and Misael Dominguez, the players in this team with the most success in Liga MX, were a step above everyone in the field.

Though Jose Juan Macias wasn’t having much luck up front, the Chivas forward pounced for the 2-0 with a headed a goal after a great cross from Alexis Gutierrez. Moments later, Mexico turned things up, and after the Grenada goalkeeper rebounded a shot, Edgar Lopez was right there to head in the 3-0.

Mexico kept Grenada under siege until the halftime whistle blew, and the second half had coach Diego Ramirez sub out Diego Lainez for Diego Hernandez. While Hernandez had struggled against Saint Martin, he came out ready in the second half and was able to destabilize a Grenada team who struggled physically from the first minute of the second half.

After Edgar Lopez wasted a great opportunity, he was able to make up and finish a great play to convert the 4-0.

The game once against turned into complete domination and Mexico bombarded the Grenada keeper area. Alexis Gutierrez made a great long range shot to score the 5-0.

Mexico kept pressuring and were finally able to score the 6-0 after a terrible play from the Grenada defense. The goalkeeper lost the ball to Macias, who scored the tap tin. Then a great combination play in which the Mexican players didn’t rush things, Diego Hernandez was able to score the 7-0.

After the 7-0, coach Ramirez took out Macias as he seemed to now have his eyes in the Aruba match. Daniel Lopez came on and was able to score the final goal for an 8-0.

Mexico played their best football in the tournament in the second half of tonight’s match. The main thing that made that capable was being able to exploit the opposing team’s lack of fitness in the second half.

Now all eyes are on the Aruba game. Aruba, like Grenada, are a totally inconsistent team and they showed it on Thursday. They had Jamaica tied at 0-0 in halftime, but at the end of the game, they had lost 7-1.

Mexico will go to Saturday with a +9 advantage over Jamaica. If they continue with this improvement, they should be heavily favored to make it out of the group and into the second stage.