A blooper goal and a highlight reel of saves from Jesús Corona led Mexico past Bosnia 2-0 on Wednesday night in front of 50,507 in Atlanta's Georgia Dome to give new Tri coach José Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre a win in his first game at the helm.
The tallies came by way of Javier "Chicharito" Hernández in the 47th minute and Édgar Iván Pacheco in the 55th.
The first half was full of action and marked by good chances and great interventions from both ‘keepers. Six minutes in, Pacheco surprised the Bosnian defense with a quick chip off a set piece to Chicharito, who failed to slot home with just Kenan Hasagic to beat.
Bosnia answered back in the 12th minute, forcing Corona to make a diving save on a Zvjezdan Misimovic shot from 15 yards out.
Just four minutes later, Mexico again knocked on Bosnia’s door. Giovani dos Santos, out on right side of the box, nutmegged Adnan Mravac and marched towards the six-yard box, but his pass to Hernández was knocked away by Hasagic.
Bosnia then dictated much of the rest of the first half, troubling Mexico with their physical presence and quick counters, and forcing Corona to make his presence known twice more.
[inline_node:328038]El Tri’s best chance of the first half came at the end. Giovani, this time on the left side of the box, rolled a cross to Hernández, but “Chicharito” turned his hips too much and fired wide right.
Both of Mexico’s goals came in the second half.
Chicharito had a chance at redemption in the 48th minute. After drawing a penalty, the Manchester United man fired straight at Hasagic. Chicharito then literally stumbled forward to put in his rebound, fighting off Bosnian defender Pjanic to barely reach the ball first.
Bosnia’s reaction was immediate but unfruitful. In the Dragons’ best chance of the match, Ibisevic’s head found an aerial cross, but Corona found an ally in his upright and Bosnia remained scoreless.
Seven minutes later, Pacheco increased Mexico’s lead. The left winger came up with the ball after a series of mistakes by Bosnian defenders and, with Hasagic way off his line, chipped over the 'keeper.
“It was important to play a great game, and when it’s reflected with a favorable score line, that’s also important,” de la Torre told TeleFutura after the match. “We’re happy with what the the team showed. [Bosnia are] a tough rival, tall, speedy, who that if you let play their brand of soccer, they will complicate things for you. I think the team handled them very well.”
Scoring Summary:
BOS – Pjanic, 48
MEX – Pacheco, 55
Starting Lineup:
Mexico: Jesús Corona, Carlos Salcido, Héctor Moreno, Francisco Rodríguez, Paul Aguilar, Edgar Pacheco (Nestor Calderón), Israel Castro (Jesús Eduardo Zavala), Gerardo Torrado, Pablo Barrera (José María Cárdenas), Giovani dos Santos (Aldo de Nigris, 58), Javier Hernández (Luis Ernesto Pérez)
Bosnia: Kenan Hasagic, Sejad Salihovic (Muhamed Subasic), Emir Spahic, Adnan Mravac, Mensur Mujdza, Senad Lulic (Zlatan Muslimovic), Haris Medunjanin (Ognjen Vranjes), Muhamed Besic, Miralem Pjanic, Vedad Ibisevic, Zvjezdan Misimovic
