NEWS

South American champions Liga de Quito of Ecuador advanced to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2002 presented by Toyota after beating CONCACAF champions Pachuca of Mexico 2-0 with two first-half goals at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Wednesday night.

Quito will meet the winners of the other semifinal between Manchester United and Gamba Osaka in Sunday’s final at International Stadium Yokohama.
Claudio Bieler gave the Ecuadorians the lead in the fourth minute by pouncing on a Pachuca defender’s clearance and slotting the ball home.
In the 26th minute, forward Luis Bolanos curled in a free-kick from 20 meters to put the South Americans 2-0 up.
Pachuca, who overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat African champions Al Ahly on Saturday, held their own and threatened with big attempts from Damian Alvarez in the 32nd and 34th minutes, and from Bruno Marioni in the 36th minute. But a combination of inaccurate shooting and good work by Quito goalkeeper Jose Cevallos prevented them from scoring.
Quito threatened the Pachuca goal in the 39th minute when Renan Calle fired a free-kick from mid-range, but Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero managed to palm it away to safety.
After the break, the Mexican team attacked hard, with Alvarez and Marioni leading the way. Alvarez and Cristian Gimenez had good efforts on goal, but the Ecuadorians held firm.
Quito had a further chance at the end, but substitute forward Reinaldo Navia volleyed high over the bar.
“I think Liga deserved to advance to the next game as they got the result,” said Pachuca manager Enrique Meza. “They had better possession and were stronger than we were. We didn’t have finishing power even though we had chances,”
Asked if they were unlucky on the opening goal, Meza said, “There is no 'unlucky.' They scored as they intended.”
The Mexican coach continued, “But our players did their best. As we’ll have time before going into the third-place playoff, we’ll review today’s game to prepare for it.”
Liga de Quito manager Edgardo Bauza said, “We had to use a bit more power, especially in defense, as our opponents were a tough side. We expected a hard game and did not expect to be to decide the game so early on.”
“We’ve already made a good achievement by becoming the one of the top two clubs in the world,” Bauza said. “We have the responsibility to play as the South American representative here in this tournament, and we are happy to be here and I’m proud to be coaching this side, who have no star players but try really hard.”