Chivas get last minute win over Mazatlan in Copa por Mexico debut

Chivas left it until injury time to grab a controversial goal and get a 1-0 victory over Mazatlan. It looked like it would be a third straight scoreless match in Group B until the 91st minute had Chivas scoring a goal that was at first disallowed and then allowed to stand by the referee. Chivas was making their debut in the competition and climbed all the way to top of the group. They will now play against Santos on Monday while Mazatlan waits until Tuesday to play against Atlas.

The first half started with Chivas coming out with a strong lineup, while Mazatlan had a more diverse one, with lots of regular substitutes in it. A great play in the area from Fernando Beltran almost turned into a goal, but the shot went wide. After Mazatlan lost the ball, Chivas had a chance when a cross into the area found a wide open Carlos Cisneros but his header went wide. A cross into the area from Cisneros was almost deflected in by a Mazatlan defender. Later a great pass from Beltran found Cristian Calderon, who got past Mazatlan’s goalkeeper Daniel Gutierrez but not past defender Nestor Vidrio, who cleared the ball and prevented an open net opportunity. The first half ended with a Chivas that had been the better side but hadn’t been as forceful as expected.

The second half had Chivas subbing out Carlos Cisneros for Isaac Brizuela while Mazatlan subbed out Carlos Vargas and Daniel Gutierrez for Raul Sandoval and Nikolas Vikonis. A minute in, a cross into the area turned into a shot that Chivas’ goalkeeper Raul Rangel blocked. Gilberto Sepulveda then cleared the ball and appeared to injure himself, although he remained in the match. Off pf a corner kick, the ball was headed to a wide open Bryan Colula, who wasted a great chance by heading it wide. From outside the area, Angel Zaldivar got off a great lob that forced Vikonis to make a good save. Mazatlan then had a great chance when Edgar Barcenas got the ball in the area, but his good shot was deflected wide by Sepulveda. Chivas subbed out Angel Zaldivar, Sergio Flores, and Jesus Sanchez for Luis Puente, Zahid Muñoz, and Ruben Gonzalez. Mazatlan meanwhile subbed out Nestor Vidrio, Efrain Orona, Andres Montaño, and Miguel Sansores for Enrique Cedillo, Oswaldo Alanis, Emilio Sanchez, and Marco Fabian. A great pass from Brizuela found Muñoz, but his back heel shot was saved by Vikonis. Chivas then subbed out Cristian Calderon, Fernando Beltran, and Pavel Perez for Alejandro Mayorga, Alan Torres, and Santiago Ormeño. Mazatlan subbed out Edgar Barcenas and Brian Rubio for Eduard Bello and Angel Saavedra. A header by Torres then went just wide in a dangerous chance for Chivas. In injury time, Isaac Brizuela got past his defender and his left footed shot deflected off Luis Puente and in past Vikonis. The referee initially disallowed the goal for a handball, but after his linesman and the fourth referee corrected him, and he gave the goal for the 1-0. Replays showed that the call was dubious, but it stood and Chivas got the late win.

Chivas was overall the slightly better team and got a deserved win, although the controversial manner in which it happened might take some of the luster from it. Still Chivas was the better side against a Mazatlan side that besides a good spell at the start of the second half, failed to show up much. Chivas will need to improve for their Monday match against Santos, while Mazatlan will be heavy underdogs when they face Atlas on Tuesday.