Match recap: Pachuca 1, Santos Laguna 0

Both teams played well, but ultimately it was a Colin Kazim-Richards goal that was the difference as Pachuca got all three points at home against Santos Laguna. Both goalkeepers put on a clinic, but Kazim-Richards’ second goal of the season was enough for the home side.

Both teams took a bit to get situated. It wasn’t until almost the 10th minute that Pachuca had the first decent chance of the match when Félix Torres allowed Franco Jara to get in behind him. Luckily a poor touch by Jara allowed Torres to recover and the resulting shot went well over the crossbar. Pachuca gave Santos a taste of their own medicine, pressing high and often to limit time on the ball and force the visitors into making rushed judgments.

Jara had another good opportunity in the 17th when Romario Ibarra hit a beautiful cross in to Jara, but his uncontested header went well wide of the mark. Santos started to get some momentum going, but that was dashed in the 28th when Rubens Sambueza sent a ball into the mixer and while Jonathan Orozco was able to make a save on the first shot, Colin Kazim-Richards got to the loose ball and fired one past Orozco to give the hosts the lead.

Santos had a couple of good chances, to level the score, but goalkeeper Oscar Ustari was up to the challenge, stopping a free kick from Brian Lozano. Pachuca was physical, happily committing fouls and disrupting the flow of play. It worked, keeping Santos off of their game in the first half.

Santos seemed to settle in a bit more in the second half, able to control the ball in space more often than they had in the first half. Lozano had another good look in the 54th when he took a shot from distance but Ustari was up to it, making a solid save. At the other end a minute later, it was Orozco making a diving save off of a header in the box to keep his team in the game.

Santos then was able to get a flurry of chances. Torres had a header off of a free kick in the 68th that was going in but Ustari made a good stop on it. Then a minute later Lozano hit another shot from distance that Ustari got a fingertip on top push over the bar.

There was a bit of controversy as Romario Ibarra and Fernando Gorriarán were chasing after a ball and Ibarra elbowed Gorriarán in the back of the head, drawing blood. No card was shown to Ibarra even though Gorriarán had to switch his shirt and wear a shower cap for the rest of the match.

Santos was ultimately unable to solve Ustari, whose performance was as solid as any this season has seen from any other goalkeeper in the league. Pachuca will head to Baja California to face Tijuana next Friday, while Santos will host Necaxa on Sunday.

Pachuca: Oscar Ustari; Oscar Murillo, Kevin Álvarez, Miguel Tapias, Gustavo Cabral; Rubens Sambueza (Víctor Dávila, 86’), Jorge Hernández, Erick Aguirre, Romario Ibarra (Luis Chávez, 81’); Colin Kazim-Richards, Franco Jara (Juan Iturbe, 72’)

Santos Laguna: Jonathan Orozco; Gerardo Arteaga, Hugo Rodríguez, Félix Torres, Josecarlos Van Rankin; Brian Lozano, Ulíses Rívas (Diego Valdés, 46’), Fernando Gorriarán, Carlos Orrantía (Adrián Lozano, 76’); Julio Furch, Eduardo Aguirre (Eryc Castillo, 61’)

Scoring: Pachuca - Colin Kazim-Richards (28’); Santos Laguna - None

Disciplinary: Pachuca - Colin Kazim-Richards (Yellow - 83’), Rubesn Sambueza (Yellow - 85’); Santos Laguna - Brian Lozano (Yellow - 38’), Félix Torres (Yellow - 74), Josecarlos Van Rankin (Yellow - 85’)