Soccer: Mexico salvages draw with Trinidad and Tobago in Sandy

Amid the roster questions, coaching controversy and general unrest in the Mexican National Team since winning the Gold Cup, any positive result would have gone a long way for interim coach Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti.

So far, so good.

In his de facto four game audition for "El Tri," Ferretti started off his tenure with a 3-3 tie to Trinidad and Tobago at Rio Tinto Stadium Friday night in front of a voracious, pro-Mexican crowd.

Seven minutes into the match, Trinidad and Tobago forward Keron Cummings sent in a shot on goal, the rebound deflecting into the path of Jonathan Glenn, who buried it with a diving header.

On the second goal, Mexican defender Oswaldo Alanis looked to have taken the ball away from a charging Glenn near the corner. Glenn slide tackled the ball away and laid it off to Cummings, who finished the job at the 39th minute mark.

Mexico was slow to hit its stride, knocking the ball around at midfield according to Ferretti's philosophy, leaving captain Carlos Vela to create upfront from the wing.

The team finally broke through in the 41st minute, Jorge Torres Nilo finding Carlos Esquivel, who headed it into the ground, the ensuing bounce bulging the back of the net.

Torres Nilo said that Mexico played well, but had issues to address moving forward.

"Yeah it was a game that motivated the people, a lot of goals, but now we have a lot of things to correct," the defender said through a translator.

When the second half began, Mexico carried the momentum, substitute Raúl Jiménez wasting no time after coming on for an injured Henry Martin.

The Benfica forward smashed it with his right foot after a clever pass from Esquivel. The shot ricocheted off Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams for Mexico's second in the 56th minute.

Trinidad and Tobago looked to be falling behind, but a foul just outside Mexico's box provided the edge. Chicago Fire midfielder Joevin Jones took the free kick, sending the ball sailing through the wall of Mexican players and past stunned goalkeeper Alfredo Talvera in the 69th minute.

As the clock wound down, Mexico's second sub made his mark on the match. Hector Herrera received a pass about 10 yards outside the box, hammering it into the top left corner of Michael Williams' goal in the 85th minute.

The Mexicans will have a chance at a clear victory September 8th against Argentina, likely with more of the team's stars on display.

Ferretti elected to leave Guillermo Ochoa, Giovani Dos Santos, Jonathan Dos Santos out of the traveling team altogether and relegated Andrés Guardado and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández to the bench Friday night.

Trinidad and Tobago coach Stephen Hart said he was "under no illusion" that Mexico wasn't at full strength Friday.

"They have a number of quality players, but we scored on our very first attempt and then we also got the second goal," he said. "I thought when we got the second goal, we didn't manage the game well enough."

Following the Argentina match, Mexico will take a break for the rest of the month in preparation for a playoff match against the United States on October 10th that will determine which team gets a spot in Russia for 2017 Confederations Cup.

bsmith@sltrib.com

Twitter: @BrennanJSmith