Pachuca holds off late Toluca barrage to earn huge win
Pachuca looked to get back on track as they hosted a streaky Toluca team in a week 12 matchup in Liga MX. Pachuca came into the game after a 4-1 thumping at the hands of Cruz Azul, while the team from the capital came in on a three-game unbeaten streak, two games since new manager Ricardo La Volpe took the reigns.
Los Tuzos got on the board early in the game, when in the first minute of play Franco Jara let a Pablo Lopez pass go between his legs “a la Pele,” got into the box and was taken down by Omar Tobio for a penalty kick. Jara stepped up and buried the PK in the fourth minute with a strong shot down the middle past Talavera for the 1-0 lead.
Martin Palermo’s men were able to add to their lead in the 22nd minute as Pablo Lopez controlled a Victor Guzman pass in the box and unleashed a left-footed cross-shot that hit Talavera’s left hand and went under his extended arm to the back of the goal.
Los Chorizeros went on the attack and were able to get one back a few minutes later. In the 28th Federico Mancuello crossed a corner that found a wide open Tobio in the middle of the box for an easy header past Alfonso Blanco.
Early in the second half Los Tuzos again found the back of the net on a great solo play by Edwin Cardona. Crackdona stole the ball after a bad reception from Tobio, raced into the box, executed a back flick cutback on Antonio Rios and while falling back was able to hit a right footed shot to past a reactionless Talavera for the 3-1 lead.
La Volpe’s men didn’t let the score demoralize them and continued going forward and found their reward only seven minutes later. An active Tobio was taken down in the box by Leonardo Ulloa for a penalty. Pablo Barrientos stepped up in the 54th minute to effectively execute the pk by placing it slightly to the left of Blanco who overshot the ball.
Pachuca had multiple chances to put the game away but was ineffective in front of Talavera’s goal. In the 68th minute, Jara wasted a Raul Lopez cross and lobbed his header over the crossbar. A few minutes later Jara again was unable to put the game to bed, when he couldn’t to make solid contact on a superb three finger cross from Crackdona in the 75th minute.
The Video Assistant Referee again stirred up a little controversy in this game in the 79th minute. In what looked to be a routine clearance by Pachuca’s Oscar Murillo, VAR review judged that after his sliding clearance, his cleats caught Triverio’s ankle and the referee showed Murillo the red card.
Los Tuzos were able to hold off the barrage of attacks by Los Diablos Rojos in the final minutes of the game for the much-needed win. Toluca will look to get back to their previous form when they host Los Rayados of Monterrey next Sunday, April 7th. Pachuca look to continue their winning ways as visit La Comarca Lagunera to play Santos in their next match also on Sunday.
