FC Juarez battle back to get late tie with 10 players against Cruz Azul

With two late goals, including a last minute PK, FC Juarez was able to come back from being down to 10 players and down by two goals to get a 2-2 tie against Cruz Azul. A week after getting a win with 10 players over an 11-man Queretaro, this time it was Cruz Azul who wasted a man advantage to give up a tie. Juarez battled back and made the changes to get the result. They will now travel to a tough matchup against Leon while Cruz Azul also travels to face an even tougher game against Monterrey.

The 1st half began with Cruz Azul making some moves, including starting Angel Romero and Gonzalo Carneiro. Three minutes into the match after a foul by Javier Salas on Erik Lira, the Juarez FC player would get red carded. Juarez would have an uphill battle while Cruz Azul had a great opportunity to get an away win. After a pass into the area, Michael Estrada got a shot into the net but the goal was overturned ruled correctly, as there was an offside. A left-footed shot from Jesus Dueñas would go just wide. Although Cruz Azul had more possession, they couldn’t create any chances and were wasting their man advantage. After a clash in the area, Estrada seemed to get dropped by Matias Garcia, and after going to VAR, the ref gave a penalty kick to Cruz Azul. Michael Estrada stepped up to take the PK and got a right-footed shot past Juarez’s goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera for the 1-0. Later, Estrada got into the area and from close range, got off a terrible shot that went well wide. After a great play from Estrada, he made a pass to Gonzalo Carneiro, who got past Talavera and then got off a left-footed shot into the empty net for the 2-0. It seemed that Cruz Azul had finally taken advantage of being one player up. The lead extended into halftime as Cruz Azul looked primed to get another win.

The 2nd half began with Juarez subbing out Carlos Fierro and Alberto Acosta for Mauro Lainez and Francisco Nevarez. Cruz Azul subbed out Gonzalo Carneiro and Ignacio Rivero for Christian Tabo and Cristian Jimenez. Tabo got the ball inside the area and got off a shot that went just wide. After a harsh foul from Jose Martinez, he didn’t get his 2nd yellow card and Juarez players protested it. Cruz Azul would immediately sub out Martinez for Rodrigo Huescas. After a good run into the area, Carlos Rotondi had a great chance, but his shot was blocked by Talavera. Juarez subbed out Jesus Dueñas for Darwin Machis. Cruz Azul had to sub out the injured Michael Estrada and Angel Romero for Carlos Rodriguez and Jorge Garcia. Garcia would make a harsh foul that surprisingly had no card from the ref. Later, Tabo had a good chance but he would lobbed the ball directly to Talavera. Juarez subbed out Martin Garcia and Gabriel Fernandez for Denzell Garcia and Dario Lezcano. A free kick from Juarez was almost deflected into the goal, but Cruz Azul’s goalkeeper, Jesus Corona, made a good save. Tabo would once again get the ball in the area but his shot went right to Talavera. Then, after a cross into the area, Corona made a bad mistake in going for the ball and allowed Dario Lezcano to get the ball past him and into the net for the 2-1. A cross into the area was headed by Carlos Salcedo but Corona would come up with a big save. Then, after a cross into the area, Jaiber Jimenez missed the ball and kicked Lezcano, which made the ref call the PK for Juarez. Darwin Machis stepped up to take the PK and with a strong right-footed shot would score past Corona for the 2-2. It was the last play of the match and a week after getting a win with 10 players, it was Cruz Azul’s turn to have a team get a result with 10 against them.

It was a great result for FC Juarez, who looked to have another loss 10 minutes before the final whistle, but bounced back just in time, helped by two bad mistakes by Cruz Azul’s defense. FC Juarez had to get past the hurdle of receiving a red card 4 minutes in, and they still battled. A header by Salcedo came close to giving them the tie before a PK sealed it. On the other hand for Cruz Azul, it’s a terrible result just a week after they had such a good one in a similar situation than FC Juarez. The ghost of “Cruzazuleadas” was present again and they will now need to bounce back but will have a tough match to do so away to Monterrey. Juarez will also have a tough away match, although a tad less so facing the inconsistent Leon.