by Mark Walsh

Overcome with emotion, veteran soccer commentator Roberto Hernández Junior took a deep breath at the final whistle of Saturday's pulsating Clásico Regiomontano. UANL Tigres had just held on by the skin of their feline teeth to claim a famous 3-2 away victory over arch rivals Monterrey Rayados in the Mexican Primera División. "If this isn't the best derby in Mexico then I don't know what is," Don Roberto roared hoarsely into his microphone.

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Considering the end-to-end action, five goals, the appearance of an unlikely hero and two dodgy refereeing decisions, it was difficult to argue with Hernández' succinct summing up. In a game bursting with high profile head-to-head match-ups, it was actually the head of José Rivas - probably the most low-key player on either team - that decided the match and ensured Tigres 62-year-old coach Manuel Lapuente was the victor in his tactical duel with Rayados' Argentine boss Ricardo La Volpe.

As former coaches of the Mexican national team, both La Volpe and Lapuente have reached the very top of the Aztec game, but it was granddad Lapuente's flat cap that won out against Lavolpe's moustachioed machismo. The Tigres coach included returning forward Gastón "The Cat" Fernández as the tip of a three-man attack including Lucas Lobos and Blas Pérez, in a formation designed to bully the home side into panicking with the ball.

Meanwhile, Monterrey coach La Volpe resisted the temptation to gamble on veteran striker Jared Borgetti and instead recalled misfiring Brazilian Robert De Pinho to partner Humberto Suazo in attack.

Tigres' organization soon paid dividends. Monterrey custodian Christian Martínez proved he can forget about a career in boxing after a weak punch from a corner in the 11th minute fell to Lobos 18 yards out. The Argentine did well to readjust his body shape before somehow bobbling an ungainly volley into the bottom of the net to give Tigres the lead.

Rayados' reaction showed the kind of spirit necessary in derby matches Talismanic forward Jesús Arellano - celebrating a record 27th appearance in the Clásico - began to pull the strings and just before half-time, Rayados' industry had its reward when Suazo was fouled on the edge of the Tigres box. Diminutive midfielder Luis Pérez stepped up to take the free kick and whipped a cleverly disguised shot past Cirilo Saucedo to send the teams into the break on level terms.

Once again, Lapuente's soothing words during half-time seemed to do the trick. Nine minutes from the restart, Tigres hit Rayados with another sucker punch as Rivas began his unlikely journey from anonymity to cult status. The giant left-back looked as surprised as anyone to see his header from a Lobos free-kick bulge the Rayados net to put the Felines back in front.

Rivas was about to write his name into derby history. With just 12 minutes to go and Rayados running out of ideas, the defender lumbered up for a corner. Substitute Guillermo Marino's precise kick eluded a host of striped defenders and Rivas became the first defender to score twice in the Clásico Regiomontano with another powerful header.

Rayados looked out for the count until old faithful Jared Borgetti, on as a substitute, snatched a goal back in the 82nd minute. The 34-year-old all-time leading scorer for the Mexican national team showed age has not dulled his predatory instincts as he stooped to convert a cross from the right by fellow replacement Carlos Ochoa.

With the clock ticking down, the Tigres players suffered a nervous breakdown of Britney Spears proportions, while Rayados poured forward in search of a famous comeback. Arellano had a goal ruled out for a highly debatable offside barely two minutes later, but the real talking point of the match came in the dying seconds.

Borgetti rose majestically to meet a corner and connected with another trademark header to send the home fans into fits of ecstasy. With the referee's hand poised to confirm the goal, some supporters even took the equaliser as their cue to march triumphantly out of the ground to beat the post-match traffic. Unfortunately, the early leavers missed the crucial sight of the linesman waving his flag to disallow the effort. A mystified Borgetti was left indignant by the decision. "I don't know what happened," he said in post-match interview. "You'll have to ask the referee. I thought it was a goal but we've been left with nothing."

At least the controversial refereeing decisions gave Ricardo La Volpe more than just his hairy top lip to hide behind. A day later, América coach Rubén Omar Romano had no such luxury following another dismal showing from his Eagles players. Despite taking an early lead through Oscar Rojas at home to San Luis, second half goals from Alfredo Moreno and Octavio Valdez condemned the Coapa side to a fifth straight defeat.

After arriving just over a month ago, Romano and the América club's directors pledged to deliver a side that would "make history". Five games later they have racked up the club's worst run for 50 years and have their worst points tally ever in short seasons. With UAG Tecos taking a point against Necaxa in the Friday night game, America are also bottom of the general table for the first time since 1970. Some history.

Club president Guillermo Cañeda already has the knives out ahead of the capital city derby with Cruz Azul next week. "This is an historic crisis, a dramatic moment," he boomed.  "A defeat against Cruz Azul is absolutely unthinkable." Unfortunately, such a loss is only unthinkable for lobotomy patients: the Cement Men themselves are flying high at the moment after moving into fourth place with a ding-dong 3-2 victory over faltering current champions Atlante.

Elsewhere, a fabulous match with two last gasp goals saw Puebla steal a valuable home point from high-fliers Santos in a 3-3 draw full of quality and commitment. That result left Chivas three points clear at the top after the Guadalara side's 1-0 home victory over Toluca, who drop to fifth.

Meanwhile, Pachuca pegged Veracruz back to a 1-1 draw to further dent the Red Sharks' hopes of avoiding the drop, while Pumas look back on track after Francisco Palencia's first goal in almost seven months earned a 1-0 win over Morelia. Jaguares also got a welcome boost after Adolfo Bautista fired home a penalty and masterminded a 2-0 win at home to Atlas.