by Mark Walsh - The surprise, as they say, was that there was no surprise. The Superclásico between Chivas of Guadalajara and Club América pitted the Clausura 2008’s superleaders against the tournament’s superlosers; a united team with one defeat in 14 matches against a fractured side suffering possibly the most embarrassing run in its history. Even a Democratic convention would have had no problems picking the winner of this two-horse race.

Rarely has the Superclásico been so easy to predict – which meant, of course, that something unexpected was almost bound to happen. Even Chivas boss Efraín Flores – not known for his bombast – was forced to acknowledge his side were firm favourites in the run-up to the match. “If you look at the numbers, it would be a surprise if América won,” he admitted. 

From the first whistle, however, Guadalajara battered América like an over-excited youngster presented with a baseball bat and a piñata on his birthday. The red-and-whites’ coach Flores clearly felt the confidence crisis at América was best compounded by a quick start and his wish almost came true in the opening exchanges when Sergio Santana crashed a header against the bar in the 13th minute.

Despite his confident soundbites beforehand, América coach Rubén Omar Romano made no efforts to disguise the fragility of his team. A five-man banked defence with two midfield tacklers in front betrayed a side more than happy to play out a draw on enemy territory, with only schemer Federico Higuaín, the ineffective Enrique Esqueda and star forward Salvador Cabañas risked in forward positions.

Despite América’s best attempts at slow the frenetic starting pace, the fans in Guadalajara’s Estadio Jalisco could scent blood and were already looking forward to ending a four-game losing streak in the Superclásico when the breakthrough came. Santana had obviously got his radar back on line after the earlier effort and he rose to head in the opening goal seven minutes before half-time.

The floodgates threatened to open three minutes later, when Santana finished with aplomb after Omar Bravo had drifted through the América defence. Two goals down and heading for a thrashing, the best thing that happened to América in the first half was the referee’s whistle signalling the break and a chance to regroup.

If the scoreline at that stage was no surprise, however, neither was the impotent reaction. Romano has been unable to turn the tide of the América crisis since his appointment in February and he was equally helpless to divert the course of the Superclásico. Santana again threatened six minutes after half-time, but a horribly unjust second yellow card for Juan Carlos Silva on the hour mark left América staring into the abyss.

Chivas needed no further invitation and Sergio Ávila put clear daylight between the teams in the 67th minute, feinting past Guillermo Ochoa before driving into an empty net to register Guadalajara’s third goal. Inexplicably, Chivas then relaxed and allowed the dying embers of the Superclásico to burst suddenly into flame.

Salvador Cabanas was again the spark of inspiration for América. First, a rasping shot hit the post and forced Javier Rodriguez to foul Esqueda when the Eagles forward latched onto the rebound. The Paraguayan hitman despatched the resulting penalty himself and then crept in behind Hector Reynoso to pull another goal back in the 81st minute, prompting a nervous ten minutes for Guadalajara.

This match was always going to be a tale of sound and fury signifying very little and had América snatched a shock equaliser, nothing much would have changed in the Primera División. Nonetheless, such is the weight of pride at stake in the Superclásico, the Chivas faithful celebrated with wide-eyed delight at the final whistle. The result may have surprised few, but the taste of victory was none the less sweet for that.

If the Superclásico was ultimately a giant match with little at stake, the game between Puebla and Veracruz was a match of minnows with everything to play for. In fact, the Friday night clash between the Blue Stripe and the Red Sharks was nothing less than a fight for survival in the Primera División.

Although the complicated relegation system in Mexico meant neither team could be dealt a lethal blow, the 2-0 away victory for recently-promoted Puebla meant the Sharks of Veracruz were suddenly hot favourites to sink into the second tier of Aztec soccer. Álvaro González opened the scoring for La Franja in the 13th minute, before José Ruis Nataren assured victory with an 87th minute strike.

That result meant UANL Tigres could banish all fears of relegation by beating the misfiring Monarchs of Morelia at home in the Estadio Universitario on Saturday. Despite the opportunity on hand, Gastón “The Cat” Fernández saw a second-half penalty saved by Moisés Muñoz to lock the teams into an entertaining 2-2 draw.

Nonetheless, only a freak run of results would see Tigres drop through the trapdoor now, with Puebla needing only a win and a draw from three games to preserve top-flight status. Meanwhile, port city club Veracruz must pick up points at a rate of knots to avoid waving a white handkerchief and a tear-stained goodbye to the Maximum Circuit.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the capital city derby between Cruz Azul and Pumas finished with a 2-1 victory in favour of the Cement Men, who look certain to reach the close season, even if the strong Group Three sector might leave them needing a wild card. San Luis Potosí hung on to second place in the Clausura 2008’s “Group of Death” - which has unexpectedly pitted the tournament’s top three teams in the same section - with a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Tecos. Meanwhile, the 1-1 draw between mid-table Necaxa and Atlante the same day was just as useless to the disappearing playoff hopes of both sides.

On Sunday, Toluca and Chiapas drew 1-1 in the Estadio Nemesio Diez, while Pachuca were pegged back by visitors Monterrey to level at one goal apiece in the Estadio Hidalgo. Those results assured Group One remained unchanged with Toluca in pole and Chiapas close behind, while the Rayados of Monterrey slipped a point further ahead of Atlas, who were thrashed 6-1 by section leaders Santos in the relatively forgiving Group Two.