HOUSTON -- Fans were expecting another great match from Club America and Chivas de Guadalajara at Robertson Stadium on Saturday night, as the Superclasico rivals battled in the fourth match of InterLiga.
The fans got what they wanted.
America, the 2008 Interliga champion, scored first in the 37th minute, but Chivas earned an own goal in the 56th minute as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in front of 30,729 fans. The match was each team's first in Group B play.
Both teams are 0-0-1 with a point and in a four-way tie with Tigres and Atlas in the group.
America scored in the 37th minute when one of their newest signings, Jean Beausejour, got a pass in the upper left box and drilled a shot just inside the lower pole. Angel Reyna sent a delayed pass to Beausejour, who gathered it and drilled it for the goal.
Chivas scored the equalizer in the 56th minute when Sergio Amaury Ponce chased down a free kick and appeared to send a header into the net. After further review, the header went off of America's Alejandro Arguello for an own goal.
"We played a hard game. Both teams didn't want to lose," said America forward Robert De Pinho. "We played hard. I think it was a fair ending to the game. Both teams came out wanting to win."
Salvador Cabanas tried to give America the early lead in the 16th minute, but his shot from the left went high. In the 26th minute, Chivas got a shot by Carlos Ochoa after Fernando Ortiz couldn't clear. Guillermo Ochoa, however, saved Carlos Ochoa's shot, and the score remained knotted at zero.
In the 33rd minute, America nearly took the lead on a shot by Enrique Vera from 18 yards out, but Chivas goalkeeper Luis Ernesto Michel made a great save to deny it. In the 41st minute Carlos Ochoa headed Ramon Morales' pass from the right, but Guillermo Ochoa was there for the stop.
Morales nearly tied the score late in the first half when he tried to surprise America on a free kick from near midfield on the left, but his shot went over the goal.
"This was a very tense game, and we fought very hard," said Carlos Ochoa. "We had a good game, and I'm glad the fans had a good game to watch. We played good. At the end, we had a lot of opportunities to score. I'm glad to see us playing well as a team. I look forward to the next game."
America started the second half with a header by Robert De Pinho that was saved by Michel in the 48th minute. In the 51st minute, De Pinho came back with a shot from 22 yards out on the right that Michel easily gathered.
Beausejour was looking for his second goal of the night in the 64th minute, but his trip through the box and shot from the left from 15 yards out went wide right. Carlos Ochoa tried giving Guadalajara the lead in the 66th minute as he fired one from just right of the semi-circle that went just left of the upper pole.
De Pinho tried to regain the lead for Club America in the 67th minute, but Michel easily gathered up his free kick from 27 yards out in the middle. Chivas defender Hector Reynoso got a loose ball off a corner kick in the 71st minute, but his bullet from above the semi-circle went high.
Xavier Baez tried to give Chivas the lead in the 79th minute, but his bullet from 30 yards out left of midfield went high. Morales nearly scored in the 81st minute as he dribbled up the left sideline and gathered for a bullet that Guillermo Ochoa had to dive to his left to make the save on.
Club America fought back in the 85th minute as second-half substitute Enrique Esqueda headed a pass from the middle of the box that Michel made a diving save to stop. Arguello's corner kick from the left side in the 87th minute was batted out by Michel.
Beausejour tried to give America the lead in the 90th minute, but his shot from the left box went wide right.
"I felt we should have won the game," Reynoso said. "Even though we didn't play well in the first half, we played well in the second half, and we should have won it."
Guillermo finished with four saves for America, while Michel had two.
"Our team needs more offense, and I think the return Pavel Pardo will help the team be more ordered," said America defender Edgar Castillo. "We have to get more ball in the midfield."
Both teams will continue Interliga play on Tuesday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX, as America battle Tigres at 7 p.m. CT and Chivas face Atlas at 9:30 p.m. CT.
