Silvio Romero Responds to His Critics, América Defeats Potros UAEM 2–1

All eyes were on Silvio Romero last night, who received heavy criticism after last Saturday’s match against Pumas. Absurdly missing an important penalty and his long goal drought had fans questioning his status on the team.
América received newly promoted Ascenso MX side, Potros UAEM, at the Estadio Azteca in the third fixture of the Copa MX. Both teams were desperate to get their first win in order to fight for a top two spot which would send them through to the Round of 16.
This game could not have come at a better time for Silvio Romero as he was able to redeem himself with another penalty kick, and scored a brace that gave América all three points.
Starting XI’s



First Half
América started the first half struggling to generate anything in the final third of the pitch. Potros used that to their advantage by taking control of the game. They created chance after chance until they finally stunned the home side.
The play started off from a throw in for Potros by José Manica who then connected with Juan Carlos Morales. The latter played a quick pass to Ernesto Vázquez and he laid it off for Antonio López who then cut into his left foot and sent it back in for Morales near the edge of the box with Bruno Valdez on his back. A quick turn to his left was enough to leave his man behind and he proceeded to pull off a shot from a very difficult angle that managed to sneak in through Oscar Jiménez’s near post to give the away side a surpring lead in the 18th minute.
Just when it seemed like Potros were closer to score the second than América were to finding an equalizer, Juan Carlos Morales dragged Diego Lainez down to the floor inside the box right in front of the referee that left him no other choice but to call a penatly for the home side.
Silvio Romero was once again the man in charge of taking the penalty kick. Despite the fresh memory from Saturday and the immense pressure from every single Americanista, he was able to redeem himself by tucking in a powerful shot to the bottom right corner of the goal in the 33rd minute that left Leonin Pineda with no chance of reaching it.
Second Half
The pressure was all on América to find the game winner as Potros saw a man get sent off in barely the 52nd minute. David Stringel received a second yellow after a late challenge on Renato Ibarra.
Mateus Uribe made his long awaited debut for América as he was brought on for Edson Álvarez in the 56th minute.
Now a man down, Potros tried to do all they could to hold on to the draw away from home and relied only on counter attacks to get anywhere near the other half of the pitch. On the other hand, Miguel Herrera went all in for the victoy after bringing in Oribe Peralta for William da Silva and Carlos Orrantia for Diego Lainez in the 62nd and 69th minute respectively.
Nothing seemed to be working for América as Potros defended their goal as if their lives depended on it. The home side could not take advantage of being up a man for twenty minutes. They suffered a blow as Guido Rodríguez was once again sent off after a second booking.
América was finally able to break the deadlock in the 79th minute of the game. A slow buildup led to Mateus Uribe laying it off to Darwin Quintero who with a quick feint was able to beat his man. He then charged towards the box and picked out a quick pass to Silvio Romero who calmly controlled it and created himself enough space by cutting to his left foot and drilling in a shot to the opposite post for the dagger and his second of the night.
Copa MX Table

Analysis
Despite playing with a strong lineup, they struggled early on against a midtable Ascenso MX side. It turned out to be a much more complicated match for América then it should have been. On paper it seemed like Potros had no shot at even standing a chance away from home, but they managed to stay in the game until the very end.
After scoring a brace last night, it seems like all has been left behind between Silvio Romero and the fans. Hopefully this performance does not turn out to be just a fluke, and he can maintain this level of good form throughout the season for América. They will surely need all the goals they can get from him to be successful in this campaign.
It seems like discipline is the biggest issue for Guido Rodríguez as he will serve his third suspension in just six games since arriving from Xolos. Miguel Herrera will surely have to put some type of consequences in place to prevent this from becoming a habit from the 23 year old Argentine international.
With Mateus Uribe now in the mix, it will be interesting to see how Miguel Herrera rotates all the talent at his disposal. It is a good problem to have for the manager as everyone will be competing for a spot in the starting lineup.
América’s next match will be away from home on Friday night as they visit Atlas at the Estadio Jalisco in the fourth fixture of the 2017 Apertura season.
