Chivas get last minute tie at home against Necaxa

A last minute goal saved Chivas from another home loss as they tied Necaxa 2-2. Chivas was the better team but Necaxa had a good strategy and came within a minute to get three away points. Chivas has yet to get a home win and will now have a tough away match as they face Pachuca. Necaxa will return home and face a tough battle against Monterrey.

The first half started with Chivas coming out with the same lineup that played against Leon. Chivas had the first opportunity when a cross by Jesus Sanchez found Edson Torres in the area, but his header went straight to the hands of Necaxa’s goalkeeper Luis Malagon. Chivas came close again when after a scramble in the area, a ball fell to Jose Juan Macias but his shot was saved by Malagon. Chivas continued to dominate possession but they started to have trouble creating chances while Necaxa was able to improve their defense. Another opportunity fell to Isaac Brizuela, but his shot went wide. Necaxa’s first opportunity came in the 33rd minute but it was a good one as an Alejandro Zendeja’s left footed shot forced Chivas’ goalkeeper, Raul Gudiño to make a save. Unfortunately for Chivas, they wouldn’t be as lucky the second time. Ian Gonzalez got the ball and was allowed to get into the area, getting off a left footed shot that went past Hiram Mier and under the feet off Gudiño for the 1-0 lead. Necaxa had surprised Chivas after they had most of the possession in the first half. Chivas looked like they were going to go trailing to halftime but in the 45th minute, Isaac Brizuela made a great play and got off a pass into the area where Jesus Ricardo Angulo just tapped the ball in to make it 1-1.

The second half started with Chivas hoping to get back to dominating possession and for time to reflect them in the scoreboard while Necaxa hoped for another surprise. After a couple of minutes, Necaxa got a free kick and the ensuing cross bounced off the face of Jose Juan Macias and went past Raul Gudiño for the 2-1 lead for Rayos. It was the second consecutive game in which Chivas had scored an own goal. For the second time of the game, Necaxa had taken the lead without creating many opportunities. Chivas needed to respond and subbed out Jesus Sanchez and Jesus Molina for Cesar Huerta and Alexis Vega. Meanwhile Necaxa subbed out Maxi Salas for Martin Barragan. Chivas would later sub out goal scorer Angulo for striker Angel Zaldivar. Chivas continued to try to score, but unlike the first half the game had become more even and Necaxa had more possession that before, although still the lesser of the two. To try to fix things, they subbed out Ian Gonzalez for Fernando Arce, Jr. A free kick from Vega forced Malagon to make a save. As time went by Necaxa started to sit back while Chivas had more possession into the final third. On a corner kick it looked like Cesar Huerta had handled the ball, but replays showed that it hit his body before and no penalty kick was given. Chivas continued to try to attack without much luck. They made their final move by subbing out defender Antonio Briseño for Fernando Beltran. Necaxa subbed out Idekel Dominguez for Raul Sandoval. It looked like the loss was coming in the final minute a great cross by Brizuela found Jose Juan Macias, who connected with a great header past Malagon for the 2-2 draw. Chivas was saved from a terribly disappointing result.

It was still however a disappointing result and performance from Chivas at home after the boost of getting an away win against current Liga MX champion Leon. For all of their possession they created few chances, although in the end they were more efficient that they were against FC Juarez, a similar situation where they trailed at home an ended up losing. Chivas will need to improve, and will have a tough match against Pachuca. Necaxa came close to getting a win, and their fans will not be happy with them letting a win slip away from their fingers. Still Necaxa improved a lot after their game against Cruz Azul (a 2-0 loss at home last Friday), and were a totally different team from their past Repechaje game where they lost in this same stadium against Chivas and were totally dominated. Yet they will have a tough match in their return home when they face Monterrey, where they probably will not be favored to get the victory.