Match recap: Guadalajara 1, Santos Laguna 1

Both Santos and Chivas played well, however both sets of fans may be a little disappointed in the 1-1 draw at the end. Both teams had chances to pick up the win, but stellar play from Santos goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo and a solid defensive effort from Chivas kept the match from going one way or the other.

Santos had the first good chance of the match in the 10th minute when Jesús Ocejo had a shot on frame but it was cleared off of the line by Hiram Mier and into the arms of the goalkeeper. Then at the other end in the 14th Alexis Vega made a run and hit a shot that beat the diving Acevedo but hit off of the far post. The rebound went to Ángel Zaldívar, but his shot was somehow tipped over the bar by Acvedo. Santos had another good chance in the 20th when a shot was deflected off of a Chivas defender and went just wide of the net.

Both teams were putting together some good runs, however the defenses were able to largely get into position to limit if not the number then certainly the quality of chances. IT was a defensive mistake that alowed the first goal in the 31st minute when Mier slipped and Ocejo was there to pick up the ball, racing past the defenders who tried valiantly to catch up to him as he hit a shot, beating Toño Rodríguez to the far post.

The pace of the match seemed to slow down a little bit, as Santos sat back and looked to counter. Juan Ferney Otero had a decent look in the 40th, but his shot from outside of the box missed by about a meter. Just before the half ended, Alexis Vega had a shot but Acevedo was able to stop it in its tracks.

Chivas came out looking to equalize, and in the 47th a centering pass found an onrushing Eduardo Torres, but his volley was saved by Acevedo. At the other end, Rodríguez had to make a save on a shot from the counterattack. Alexis Vega had a decent attempt in the 53rd off of a free kick, but his redirection went wide of the net and was ruled offside to boot.

A scary moment in the 56th when Ronaldo Prieto was hit in the face with a cross and appeared to be knocked unconscious. Prieto lie on the turf for a couple of minutes before being subbed out for Carlos Orrantia. Then in the 63rd there was some controversy as Jesús Isijara pulled down a Chivas player from behind as he passed the ball forward. The ball went to another Chivas player, who was knocked down in the box and a penalty was awarded, but a brief VAR review overturned the penalty as the play had been offside. Isijara was booked for the foul, and much to the dismay of the Chivas players, play resumed without a penalty.

J.J. Macías had an immediate impact after coming into the match in the 71st minute, hitting a header that forced Acevedo to make a diving save. Then in the 73rd minute “Chicote” Calderón hit a shot inside of the box that Acevedo was able to hit a reaction save up and off of the crossbar. Chivas finally broke through in the 73rd when Jesús Angulo hit a volley from the top of the box off of a throw in that Acevedo couldn’t quite get to.

Chivas was emboldened somewhat by the goal, and Santos were clearly on the back foot. They did manage however to keep numbers back and force Chivas to take poor shots and waste chances. Chivas did have a good chance in stoppage when Uriel Antuna hit a shot that beat Acevedo but Félix Torres was in the right place and kneed the ball out of bounds. The referee then stopped the match for a time due to the fans use of “el grito homofóbico”. Play was allowed to continue, however there wasn’t much time left in the match and it ended in a draw.

Next week Chivas will be in Mexico City to face Cruz Azul on Saturday, April 10 while Santos heads to Querétaro to face Gallos Blancos next Sunday, April 11.

Guadalajara: Toño Rodríguez, Alejandro Mayorga (Cristian Calderón, 45’) , Antonio Briseño, Hiram Mier, Jesús Sánchez (J.J. Macías, 71’); Jesús Molina (Jesús Angulo, 59’), Eduardo Torres; Isaác Brisuela, Alexis Vega, Uriel Antuna; Ángel Zaldívar (César Huerta, 81’)

Santos Laguna: Carlos Acevedo; Ronaldo Prieto (Carlos Orrantia, 57’), Félix Torres, Matheus Dória, Jesús Isijara; Andrés Ibargüen (Eduardo Aguirre, 62’), Alan Cervantes, David Andrade (Hugo Rodríguez, 73’), Juan Ferney Otero; Santiago Muñoz, Jesús Ocejo (Ignacio Jeraldino, 73’)

Scoring: Guadalajara - Jesús Angulo (74’); Santos Laguna - Jesús Ocejo (31’)

Disciplinary: Guadalajara - Alejandro Mayorga (Yellow - 24’), Jesús Molina (Yellow - 49’); Santos Laguna - Guillermo Almada (Yellow - 22’), Andrés Ibargüen (Yellow - 59’), Jesús Isijara (Yellow - 65’)