For Meza, Monterrey Loss Just As Tough As Any Other

Posted Sunday, January 31, 2010 by Goal.com

Cruz Azul manager Enrique Meza said any loss is tough.

Enrique Meza - Cruz Azul

Cruz Azul lost the Apertura 2009 final to Monterrey, but the club had a chance to gain a bit of revenge on Saturday when la Maquina visited Monterrey.

However, instead of a confidence-boosting victory over the defending champions, Cruz Azul were reminded why they were not good enough to win the Apertura 2009 championship.

Monterrey handed Cruz Azul a 2-0 setback, and while losing to Monterrey was not enjoyable, it is merely the result that matters the most.

"It doesn't matter," Enrique Meza told reporters after the match when asked how tough it was to lose to Monterrey again.

Meza helped guide Cruz Azul to the league final in his first season with the club but was unable to help the club win their first championship in more than a decade.

Monterrey were deserved winners of the crown last season and again on Saturday. While Meza said losing to Monterrey is no worse than losing to other teams, los Rayados did have plenty to make things tough for Meza's side.

"The rival matters, of course they matter," Meza said. "There are times when you come out ahead even when you don't play the way you'd planned to play, but we were not able to do much because we just weren't capable of it. Monterrey did what they wanted to do."

Meza said his defense played strong but the attack left a lot of room for improvement.

"Defensively and in the midfield we were at our best," Meza said. "However, we could not get near our opponent's penalty area with any sort of frequency. But that's what we have to work on and adjust, to keep getting better."