SANDY — For Liga MX fans, Rio Tinto Stadium felt like home for 90 minutes Tuesday.
Beating drums for the full 90 minutes, nonstop cheers and a raucous atmosphere even a full hour before kickoff led to a wonderful night for the local fans of Mexican soccer.
When kickoff commenced, the hundreds in the Club America supporter section behind goal pulled out confetti streamers, colored smoke bombs and balloons and threw them on the field. As Club America earned a corner kick in the first two minutes, stadium staff and referees had to take a couple minutes to clear all the decorations off the field.
Monarcas Morelia scored two first-half goals in a 2-0 victory over Club America in a preseason exhibition match between two top-tier Mexican teams.
Eric Gomez, a 32-year-old fan, though disappointed with the outcome for his Club America side, was still ecstatic that he got to see his favorite team play.
Gomez, born in Mexico City, was one of the thousands of fans who showed up to cheer for Club America. He said this game could be a stepping stone for Utah to expand its partnership with Mexican soccer, and hopefully bring even more games to the state.
Club America played at Rio Tinto exactly eight years prior to the match Tuesday, on July 11, 2009, in an 0-1 loss to Real Salt Lake in the XANGO Cup, and fans like Gomez had been waiting patiently for the opportunity to cheer for their team to get revenge in Utah.
"There are lots of us Mexicans here in Salt Lake, the whole state too, and a lot of us want to keep seeing Mexican games. We love them," he said.
With Tuesday's exhibition, along with hosting the USA vs. Venezuela match in June, and an upcoming RSL vs. Manchester United matchup, it appears the state and team management have made a concerted effort to keep international fans interested in coming to the stadium.
Gomez said he and his family have long been RSL supporters, but that hosting a wide variety of matches and teams in Sandy could help overall business
"I think all soccer business here is good soccer business," he said. I wish they (Club America) would've won, but still fun to see something different like this."
Game Recap;
As its fans were finally rolling down a flag the size of an entire section of Rio Tinto, Club America looked the better team in the first half hour of play, thanks in part to solid wing play from attacking midfielder Renato Ibarra. He made a few quality runs on the right side, and got balls into the box, though nothing really scared Morelia's defense.
From that point on, however, Morelia changed its fortunes, with better ball control than its opponents, and scoring twice on set pieces.
When Morelia was able to put the first score on the board in the 29th minute, it seemed against the run of play. Following a service into the box off a corner kick, defender Emanuel Loeschbor headed a perfect ball into the right post, and into the back of the net.
Rather than take a step back in the first half after scoring, Morelia kept attacking, leading to a second goal in the 45th minute.
Morelia forward Gaston Lezcano scored on another header off a free kick from a few yards outside the box, placing the ball far past the keeper in the left side of the net.
As the second half began, Morelia's midfield dominated. It allowed few quality balls into the defensive third, and the few that got through early in the half were cleared easily by the back line.
From about the 60th minute on, it seemed the Monarcas were content to drop numbers back and defend, which nearly cost them a couple times.
In the 70th and 88th minutes, America's attack finally looked solid again, drawing a couple of fouls just a few yards outside the box.
However, both free kicks resulted in harmless shots that went over the crossbar and safely away from Morelia goalkeeper Sebastian Sosa.
Beside those two chances, Club America had a few chances, but were never really able to make the Morelia defense worried.
Following the loss, Club America continues its USA tour against fellow Liga MX foe Queretaro FC on Sunday at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Morelia plays its next game on July 21 at home against Monterrey in league play.