One of the biggest transfers this offseason leading up to the Liga MX Apertura 2017 was Chilean forward Edson Puch moving from Necaxa to Pachuca. The team from Aguascalientes had a busy transfer window and started a rebuilding process with Ignacio Ambriz at the helm.
The rebuilding process has been a success so far as Necaxa currently sits in fifth place with 12 points tied in points with Toluca in fourth and Tigres UANL in third. Ignacio Ambriz has led this renovated team to three wins, three draws and only one loss in this tournament and looks to be on track to make the playoffs.
Edson Puch was a huge loss but Ambriz did a fantastic job spending the money from that transfer in the offseason. The most recent result for Los Rayos was a 2-1 win against Atlas at home, the other wins for Necaxa have come against Club Tijuana at home and Veracruz away from home. Seven players that were not on the team in the Clausura 2017 featured in that match, five in the starting 11 and two off the bench.
The five in the starting lineup for Ignacio Ambriz were Igor Lichnovsky, Miguel Angel Ponce, Pablo Velasquez, Dieter Villalpando and Carlos Gonzalez. The two that came off the bench were Roberto Alvarado and Martin Barragan with offseason acquisitions Daniel Alvarez and Facundo Pereyra also featuring on the bench but not getting minutes in the game. The goals were both influenced by players that came over this season as Pablo Velasquez had the shot that led to Facundo Erpen’s own goal and Roberto Alvarado had the winning goal off a potent strike from the half-moon.
The rebuilding process has been a success as the batch of new players in Aguascalientes has really improved the team and made the team more solid from top to bottom as opposed to reliance on one key player.
The defense has looked rigid with the additions of Lichnovsky and Ponce and has helped the team keep leads once they get them especially with Marcelo Barovero in net. The squad now has immense depth as well as there are decent players who are not cracking the starting 11 like Martin Barragan and Daniel Alvarez. Barragan has made efficient use of his limited playing time with three assists in just 186 minutes of play this season.
Necaxa is not the most exciting teams in the Liga MX but has proven to be one of the more effective teams in the league getting the results to crack the playoffs. Meanwhile, Edson Puch has only featured in 184 minutes with Pachuca this season and is currently injured as Los Tuzos find themselves in 10th place with nine points.
