Soccer-America, Guadalajara level, poles apart in relegation fight

MEXICO CITY, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Title holders America beat UANL Tigres 1-0 while arch-rivals Guadalajara eased their relegation worries with a 1-0 home win over Pachuca thanks to a dubious penalty decision in the Mexican Clausura championship. Mexico's two biggest clubs are level on seven points, two points behind leaders Tijuana, after the weekend's fourth round of matches in the season's second championship. Argentine forward Dario Benedetto scored the only goal at the Azteca for America from Colombian Darwin Quintero's cross in the 21st minute of the teams' first meeting since the Eagles beat the Tigers in the Apertura championship final in December. Youngster Giovani Hernandez scored for Guadalajara from the spot after referee Luis Santander awarded the Chivas a penalty for a foul by Colombian defender Aquivaldo Mosquera on Carlos Fierro. Video replays appeared to show that Fierro lost his balance and fell trying to steal the ball from Mosquera. Guadalajara are third from bottom of the relegation standings which are based on teams' average points over three seasons, and looking to avoid being the team to go down at the end of the Clausura. The club's executive president Nestor de la Torre said there never seem to be questions when refereeing decisions go against Guadalajara, only when they are favoured. "Every week I think (reporters) are going ask the same questions and in our last match there was a very dubious offside and we didn't say anything, we didn't even complain," De la Torre said. Chivas' coach, his brother Jose Manuel de la Torre, said: "I didn't see you (reporters) putting pressure last week when there was offside and I have no reason to say anything now." He was referring to the equaliser scored by relegation rivals Leones Negros in a 1-1 draw last weekend. Leones Negros, who are bottom of the relegation table, lost 3-1 at Toluca in the last match of the weekend on Sunday. (Reporting by Carlos Calvo; Writing by Rex Gowar)