Bravos Look For Quick Turnaround Against Monterrey As Fans Return

Bravos de FC Juarez have no other choice than to turn the page quickly on the what was their most recent defeat Sunday against Santos Laguna as they will have a mid week league match tonight when they host Monterrey at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium.

This evening’s match will mark a special occasion as for the first time in a year fans will be welcomed back to a Bravos match since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The stadium will host the FC Juarez faithful at 30 percent capacity.

The Bravos only had a couple of days to prepare for tonight’s match but that will have to do as the pressure is starting to build up for this team to accumulate more points as the first half of the season is wrapping up.

Rumor has it, as reported by several national sports media outlets in Mexico, that the members of the front office had a stern conversation with the team in the locker room after the Sunday’s match against Santos in Torreon, Coahuila. This reporting is now leading to the speculation that head coach; Luis Fernando Tena’s job could be in jeopardy after only seven matches.

Needless to say, positive results in tonight’s match against Rayados and Saturday’s match at Atlas will be of vital importance for there not to be changes for FC Juarez.

Monterrey comes into the Borderland tonight struggling. In their last 3 matches they have one loss and two draws. However, unfortunately for the Bravos, teams seem to turn things around for against the Bravos whenever they are struggling and obtain a favorable result.

For the Bravos, a complete match by them is needed tonight from the standpoint that from the opening minute they need to play in a proactive, aggressive manner to get the win. This was acknowledged by Luis Pavez yesterday when he spoke with the media.

Pavez said, "We didn’t know how to read the match from the onset. I think we gave up some territorial space and they took possession of the ball. In the second half we came with everything we had which led to us converting on two chances we had on goal and I think we had the ability to tie unfortunately we couldn’t. Now we have to learn from our mistakes, improve as a team and for those two things to bring us closer together."

Last Sunday, FC Juarez trailed Santos 3-0 late in the match That was until left fullback Luis Pavez would take a right footed strike from the left area of the Santos goalbox to get it past goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo in the 76th minute. Five minutes later, FC Juarez would score off a penalty kick executed by Dario Lezcano to make the score 3-2 with about 15 minutes left including stoppage time. Acevedo would save the day for Santos twice in the final 15 minutes to secure the win and avoid the draw, their 4th of the season.

With the loss the Bravos remain with 8 points after 7 matches as a result of 2 wins, 2 draws and 3 loses, good enough for 14 place in the general standings table, 2 points out of the playoff zone with one match in hand.

As for the positive things that the Bravos did in almost pulling out a draw despite being down 3-0, Pavez elaborated, "Our attitude completely changed at halftime. We had more confidence in our individual talent in all aspects that pertained to us on the field of play. This is the exact attitude we have to bring for tomorrow’s match."

Pavez concluded by giving his thoughts on playing two matches in the span of 3 days, he commented, "It’s an important week for us were we have to accumulate points in any way possible to get into the playoff zone. To have fans in the stadium is important, obviously for a player the home crowd is vital and for the opposing team to feel that pressure from the home crowd."

Tonight’s match will be televised nationally on TUDN DirecTV ch. 464/ Spectrum 444. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm MST.