Chivas hang on to defeat Necaxa

Chivas didn’t have the best performance, but did enough to get the victory over Necaxa by a 1-0 score. It wasn’t the best played match, but Chivas fans went home happy that the team returned to victory and climbed all the way to sixth place in the league. Necaxa missed some chances and deserved better than the loss. They will go back home to face Puebla, while Chivas has a tough away match against Leon.

The first half started with Chivas going out with Victor Guzman and Alexis Vegas in the starting 11 to the cheer of their crowd. The first chance of the match came when Damian Battallini took advantage of a mistake by a Chivas defender, but his lob was easily handled by Chivas’ goalkeeper MIguel Jimenez. Necaxa missed another great chance on a great play made by Edgar Mendez when his pass found Batallini, but his shot was incredibly deflected by Cristian Calderon. On the ensuing corner kick, Juan Segovia got a free header that went wide. A good cross into the area then found Guzman, but his header went right to Necaxa’s goalkeeper Hugo Gonzalez. Although they weren’t as dangerous, Chivas started to gain possession and evened out the match. Another great cross into the area found Guzman, but his header went just wide. A shot from Vega then went wide. Later Calderon got into the area, but his left footed shot went well wide. The first half ended and after a bright start, it turned dour from both sides.

The second half started with both teams coming out with the same 11 they started the match with. It looked like a possible penalty against Necaxa after a ball was cleared off of Vega’s feet bounced off of a Necaxa defender, but nothing was given. Off of a corner kick, Segovia once again rose to get a header that went just wide. In the 64th minute, Necaxa subbed out Facundo Batista and Fernando Madrigal for Ricardo Monreal and Vicente Poggi. Chivas then subbed out Fernando Beltran for Pavel Perez a minute later. Vega got a good shot just outside the area, but Gonzalez made a great save. A cross into the area found Mendez, but his header went wide. Alan Mozo then made an incredible pass into the area right into the path of Pavel Perez, who got by Gonzalez and then got off a low shot into the empty net to score and give Chivas the 1-0 lead in the 71st minute. It was a great pass and a great decision from Perez to convert. Two minutes later, Chivas subbed out Alexis Vega and Alan Torres for Daniel Rios and Ruben Gonzalez. A shot from outside the area from Mendez came real close to going in but it went just wide. In the 80th minute Chivas subbed out Carlos Cisneros and Victor Guzman for Jesus Orozco and Isaac Brizuela. Meanwhile Necaxa subbed out Damian Batallini and Joaquin Esquivel for Juan Pablo Dominguez and Maxi Silvera. Silvera got into a possible one-on-one chance but was brought down in the area by Antonio Briseño. Nothing was given, but replays showed it would have been an iffy decision. With two minutes remaining in regulation, Necaxa subbed out Bryan Garnica for Heriberto Jurado. Off of a corner kick, Chivas wasted a great chance when Rios rose to get a head on the ball, but his header went wide in a play where he could have done a lot better. Jurado then got a great cross into the area, but Agustin Olivares sent his volley into the stands missing a great chance. Later a shot from Poggi forced Jimenez to make a good save. Then after a cross form a corner kick was cleared, Dominguez got off a great shot from outside the area that forced Jimenez to make an even better save. It was the last chance and although they were holding on for dear life in the last minutes, Chivas got their win.

It wasn’t a great win for CHivas but three points are three points and it was a key result that lifts them to sixth place in the standings. The pairing of Vega and Guzman from the start had Chivas fans’ buzzing, but overall they disappointed, especially Guzman. Chivas has improved after their disastrous loss in the Superclasico, but they will have a tough task next week when they face Leon away in Guanajuato. Meanwhile Necaxa played well enough to deserve a tie, but it wasn’t meant to be. They will hope to improve as they face Puebla in their home stadium but unlike Chivas, their position in the standings is terribly lackluster at 16th place.