Half Time: Pachuca at Chivas USA
An event-filled opening 45 minutes saw Chivas USA blow a lead, squander a penalty kick and come in at the half trailing 2-1.
Chivas could and probably should have been up 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, with Sacha Klejstan hitting the bar from 16 yards, wasting a fine Jonathan Bornstein run, who split the Pachuca defense after intercepting a lazy clearance.
In the 10th minute Claudio Suarez hit the post from the penalty spot, after Pachuca defender Fausto Pinto had handled the ball in the area.
Chivas USA took the lead in the 16th minute when a poor Leobardo Lopez clearance only got as far as Klejstan, lurking in the penalty area. He quickly slipped the ball to Ante Razov who had a simple task in tapping it home.
Pachuca drew level from a free kick seven minutes later, a hard kick from Gerardo Rodriguez slamming off Bruno Marioni into the net.
Pachuca took the lead just before half time when a Rodriguez cross was headed in by Gabriel Caballero.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook.
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