After a fairly quiet holiday period, the Mexican contingent in Europe burst into life during the first week of the New Year. There were some excellent performances in cup ties in England and France, while Hector Moreno and Espanyol earned a memorable result against Barcelona. Also, Nery Castillo scored his first goal in 10 months to help boost his stock after a turbulent month at Aris.
Dos Santos dominates Cheltenham
After making the bench, but not the field in Tottenham's 1-0 Premier League win over West Brom, Giovani dos Santos had an excellent game for Spurs as the Premier League side cruised to a 3-0 win over League Two outfit Cheltenham Town. Dos Santos ended up with a goal and an assist to his name, though he could have easily had two goals ? he looked to have opened the scoring when he latched on to a pinpoint pass and chipped the goalkeeper, but Jermain Defoe slid in to get the final touch with the ball looking destined for net.
The youngster, who is strongly rumored to be leaving White Hart Lane during the winter transfer window, continued to make himself more attractive to potential suitors as he continued his sharp play, springing Defoe, who in turn squared for Roman Pavlyuchenko to finish. Dos Santos finally got a goal of his own in the 87th minute as a slip from a Cheltenham defender allowed him to turn and put away a deflected finish. Spurs will travel to Championship side Watford in the next round.
Little luck for Chicharito, Pedroza
The past week was less fruitful for other Mexicans playing in England, though. Javier Hernandez couldn't make an impact off the bench as he entered as a 66th minute substitute in Manchester United's 3-0 loss at Newcastle in the midweek, and had to watch from the bench for the entirety of the game as Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck stole the show in United's 3-2 FA Cup win at archival Manchester City. United will travel to Liverpool in the fourth round.
It was a mixed bag for the other Mexican playing in England ? 20-year-old forward Antonio Pedroza was handed his first start for Crystal Palace, but like the rest of his team couldn't find the net as Palace fell 1-0 at Derby County in the FA Cup. Pedroza was replaced by Steffen Iversen in the 64th minute.
Memorable match for Moreno
League action in Spain got back underway after the winter break, and it was a day to remember for Hector Moreno and Espanyol, as Mauricio Pochettino's side earned a dramatic point against city rivals Barcelona. There was a collective defensive breakdown as Cesc Fabregas lashed home a header from the top of the area. After looking somewhat overmatched early on though, Moreno and the Espanyol defense started to cope with Barcelona, allowing Alvaro to head home a dramatic 86th minute equalizer.
Elsewhere in Spain, Carlos Vela continued his run in the starting lineup for Real Sociedad, but neither side could break the deadlock as the game versus Osasuna petered out into a 0-0 draw. Vela was replaced by Diego Ifran in the 78th minute.
Real Zaragoza's woes continued as it well 1-0 to Racing Santander and now sits seven points from safety. Efrain Juarez played the full game, while Pablo Barrera entered as a 58th minute substitute, but neither were able to swing the game in their favor.
Guardado nets again in the Segunda
Despite a likely transfer in the summer, Andres Guardado continues to perform well for Depotivo La Coru?a, as he scored what would stand as the winning goal in Deportivo's 2-1 home win over Xerez. Guardado received the ball on the left side of the area, left a defender on the ground with his cutback and lashed a shot into the far corner to make it 2-0 to the home side. The three points sent Deportivo up to second.
Elsewhere in the second tier, Anibal Ruiz went the full 90 minutes for Guadalajara, but his side lost 4-2 to table-topping Elche despite leading twice.
In B team action, Jonathan dos Santos, who recently declared his desire to prove himself worthy of a place in Barcelona's first team, started and went 88 minutes in Barcelona B's 1-1 draw with Numancia in the Segunda Division. On the other side of Barcelona, however, Taufic Guarch did not feature in Espanyol B's 2-2 draw with Prat.
Castillo puts troubles behind him with a goal
After his future at Aris was cast in doubt following a clash with coach Michal Probierz that saw him left out of the squad for three games after he angrily stormed to the dressing rooms after being substituted in an early December game. However, Probierz was recently sacked, and Aris' interim manager Giorgos Semertzidis put Castillo back into the starting lineup against PAS Giannia with great effect. In the 12th minute, Castillo found himself open near the penalty spot and tucked home a cut back from Ricardo Faty, which would prove to be the only goal of the game and Castillo's first in competitive play since March 2011.
Clean sheet for Ochoa
While Ajaccio is struggling in Ligue 1, Guillermo Ochoa's side found some respite in a comfortable Coupe de France win. The former America shot stopper had a fairly comfortable evening as Ajaccio rode a second-half outburst to win 3-0 away at third division side Frejus. The win put Ajaccio into the round of 32, where it will travel to fourth division side Bourg-Peronnas on Jan. 20.
Rivera makes Braga debut
Edson Rivera was handed the start by Sporting Braga boss Leonardo Jardim as the 20-year-old forward made his debut for the team he signed for in the summer. Braga would go on to win 2-1 at Beira-Mar in a league game, though Rivera was substituted on the hour mark almost immediately after missing a good chance to give Braga the lead with the score at 1-1. His replacement, Carl?o, went on to score the winning goal in the 73rd minute.
Francisco Rodriguez (Stuttgart, Germany), Ulises Davila (Vitesse, Netherlands), and Jose Luis Delgadillo (HNK Rijeka, Croatia) are on winter breaks and their leagues will resume play throughout January and February. Mexicans playing abroad in North and South America are yet to start the 2012 season.
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