Henry Martin’s Brace Helps Lead America to a 2 - 1 Win over FC Juarez

After going weeks without a win, America was able to defeat FC Juarez in front of their home crowd during a rainy Sunday night.

Juarez came into the Azteca looking to frustrate the Aguilas even more than they already were. They made sure of that by starting off fast and catching America off guard from the first blow of the whistle. Juarez made a dangerous run in the first minute but Jesus Dueñas was unable to find the back of the net. America countered just two minutes later but Jonathan Rodriguez wasn’t able to come up with an early goal. In the ninth minute, there was a scare when Emilio Lara bumped heads with Juarez player Maxi Olivera. When the camera zoomed into Lara’s face he looked very confused and it was surprising he was alright, avoiding a concussion. Thankfully, neither player was seriously injured and were both able to resume play after a few minutes.

America could have easily been up by two goals in the first half if it wasn’t for Juarez goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera. In the 25th minute, Henry Martin sent in a ball towards the goal and Talavera stretched his arm out to barely knock the ball out of bounds for a corner. Ten minutes later, Martin had another chance at goal, but Talavera came out and forced the shot out of bounds once again. Those two saves easily frustrated America and head coach Tano who was visibly upset, as he was seen on the sideline having an intense conversation with his staff. It was a frustrating half with so many opportunities for both teams but no goals to show for it.

America started the second half with a tactical change by bringing on Miguel Layun for Diego Valdes. 14 minutes in, Juarez was looking like the better team until Luis Fuentes sent a ball into the area and Henry Martin was able to get his head on it and send the ball flying past Talavera to take the lead. Four minutes later, Emilio Lara sent in a ball to Martin who got a foot on it and once again sent it past Talavera for the 2 - 0. Even being marked by a Juarez player was not going to stop Martin from doubling the lead. Juarez was then awarded a penalty after Sebastian Caceres’ foul inside the area. America was saved when Maxi Silvera missed and sent his shot too far right. As the game was ending, it appeared America would keep the clean sheet until the 89th minute, when they failed to clear the ball out of their own area and Alan Medina took his shot to get one back for Juarez. With this goal, Juarez pushed hard for the equalizer in stoppage time. It would have happened if not for Memo Ochoa who came out to block a shot from close distance and the ball was ultimately cleared off the line. America was able to hold on despite Juarez pushing for the late equalizer. After weeks without a win, the Aguilas finally obtained their second win of the season in front of their home crowd.