Frustrating First Game for Mexico

Maybe Chivas USA will gain the services of forward Juan Pablo Garcia much sooner than expected.

Especially if Mexico continues to play as off-the-mark as it did Friday night to open defense of its CONCACAF Gold Cup championship.

Mexico, ranked No. 6 in the world, was shocked by unheralded South Africa, 2-1, in a Group C match before an announced sellout crowd of 27,000 at the Home Depot Center.

It was Mexico’s first loss in Gold Cup group play.

“It wasn’t for a lack of trying,” Mexico Coach Ricardo Lavolpe said. “I don’t think our players were tired. We played a perfect 90 minutes. We controlled the game. I couldn’t yell at my team for a lack of effort.”

If Lavolpe wanted to, though, he could have screamed at his players for not finishing.

Four times in the first half, Mexico had quality looks at the goal, only to misfire.

In the 10th minute, Jared Borgetti, after some nifty moves in the box, shot over the cross bar.

Ten minutes later, Carlos Arnaldo Salcido’s shot went wide left.

In the 26th minute, Rafael Marquez Lugo hit the right post.

And in the 40th minute, Lugo’s shot from the right wing bounded off South Africa goalkeeper Calvin Marlin.

Mexico outshot South Africa, 21-9, and had 12 corner kicks to South Africa’s one.

But it was on its only corner, in the 28th minute, that South Africa cashed in, stunning the heavily pro-Mexico crowd.

Elrio Van Heerden’s corner skipped off Lucas Thwala’s head in the middle of the box and went to Phillip Evans, who was alone near the far post. Evans’ reactionary header hit the post but had enough spin on it to trickle into the net.

South Africa, a guest nation which brought what essentially was a ‘B’ team, was even more pleased in the 41st minute.

That’s when Siyabango Nomvete’s cross from the right side to Van Heerden on the left found him in stride and Van Heerden’s sliding, left-footed one-timer beat Mexico goalkeeper Jose de Jesus Corona for a 2-0 South Africa lead. South Africa then sat back with five defenders the rest of the game.

“We knew if Mexico got set in its defensive shape, they’d be very hard to score against; they shut out Brazil,” said South Africa Coach Stuart Baxter. “So we thought we had to hit them quickly and concentrate on our set plays.”

Mexico, which had its 20-match unbeaten streak come to an end with a fourth-place finish in the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany last month, has now lost three straight games.

It fell with a roster that included 11 players that played in the Confederations Cup, where Mexico beat Brazil, 1-0, and Japan, 2-1.

Mexico finally broke through Friday in the 83rd minute, when Luis Ernesto Perez’s cross from the right side found a streaking Francisco Rodriguez in the middle of the box.

Rodriguez’s powerful header was his first national team goal.

“I’m very happy ... but at the same time I am sad because we missed all these chances and lost a game we should have won easily,” Rodriguez said.

And sitting on the Mexico bench was Garcia, who was signed by Chivas USA last week.

With Mexico favored to at least reach the 12-nation tournament semifinals, he would not be available for Major League Soccer play until Aug. 6. But should Mexico fail to advance out of group play, he could conceivably play for Chivas USA next week.

Mexican fans hope not.