FC Juarez Falls to Cruz Azul, Looks to Rebound Against San Luis

On Saturday night Bravos de FC Juarez fell to Cruz Azul at Azteca Stadium by the score of 1-0. This was Bravos first defeat of the 2022 Clausura season in the Liga BBVA MX.

The lone goal came in the fifth minute of the match when Carlos Alberto Rodriguez received a ball on a diagonal run into the Bravos goalbox after a careless turnover by the Bravos. Rodriguez took his right footed strike to get it past Juarez goalkeeper Hugo Gonzalez.

That would be about the only fortunate series of events that would come for the entire match. The rest of the first half was dull and boring. The Bravos did not show any spark despite falling behind in the score in the first five minutes of the match. On the other hand Cruz Azul did not demonstrate any urgency to try and extend their lead making for a mundane opening 45 minutes.

In the complimentary half the Bravos demonstrated constant improvement in their execution as the half progressed. Still it would not be enough despite having the majority of the threats on goal, they failed to put the ball in the back of the net. All-in-all the match left a lot to be desired for fans of both teams.

Fast forward five days later, FC Juarez will open week number three of this new season when they go on the road once again to take on Atletico de San Luis. On paper, San Luis appears to be the ideal team for the Bravos to face if they want to get back on the winning track. After two weeks San Luis finds themselves next to last place in the general standings table, losing both of their first two games of the regular season against Pachuca (2-0) and the defending champion Atlas (1-0).

The only team San Luis is ahead of in the standings is Necaxa who FC Juarez defeated in the opening week of the season.

For FC Juarez, San Luis is also one of the teams they are in direct competition with in the fight to avoid finishing in the last three places of the average points per game table that will lead to a multi-million dollar fine come May.

Bravos’ goalkeeper Hugo Gonzalez spoke with the media on Tuesday after the team’s training session and discussed both the match against Cruz Azul and this particular situation that the team finds itself in against this particular opponent tonight.

Gonzalez said, “I feel that the team’s execution improved against Cruz Azul, with the only difference being that we were not able to get the win. As for our upcoming match, everyone on this team is aware of the situation as far as what is at stake in relation to who we are facing.”

Gonzalez concluded, “Because of the results that Necaxa has had to start this season (they have lost both games), we have a bigger opportunity to distance ourselves from those final three spots in that table so we are all very conscious and aware we have to have put together a great game and obtain three points.”

Tonight’s match is scheduled to kickoff at 8 p.m. MST and will be televised nationally on TUDN.