BC Pangie

Pumas will be thanking their doorman, Rogelio Rodríguez tonight, while Guadalajara will be thanking the right hand post as the game ended in a goalless draw. Chivas was the favorite coming into this match as they sat atop their group. Surely Pumas fans, and players alike will approve of picking up a point off of Chivas.

Pumas began the game looking somewhat equal to Chivas creating chances, and moving the ball skillfully about the pitch. Pumas began attacking early in the sixth minute when they had a shot deflected back into the box that couldn’t be finished. At this point no one realized this was how much of the game would look. Ignacio Scocco showed his determination early on when he stripped the ball from a Chivas defender off a goal kick. Unfortunately his touch was a little heavy and the Chivas portero Luis Michel came out to scoop it up cleanly.

The chances continued to favor Pumas until the forty second minute when Rodríguez got his first real test of the game from a long shot that caught him diving backwards. The deflection stayed in and was moved around by Chivas until Sergio Santana headed over the bar. In injury time of the first half, the cross bar would come to the aide of Pumas as Rodríguez got caught a bit out and the ball was headed over him only to catch the cross bar.

Both teams looked equal in the first half creating viable chances, and moving the ball comfortably. It appeared as if the fouls were favoring Chivas as their players were always on the ground, although not always due to a foul.

The beginning of the second half saw some amazing saves from Rodríguez as Chivas began to dominate. The first fifteen minutes Chivas forced Rodríguez to perform with through balls that found unmarked strikers. Rodríguez came up big multiple times saving from point blank range with nothing behind him but open net. If it weren’t for Rodríguez Pumas would undoubtedly have lost the game in the second half.

In the sixty-seventh minute it looked like Pumas’ defense had finally allowed Chivas to put one in. Rodríguez made a phenomenal first save but the rebound went to the same Chivas striker who gently put it in the back of the net. Luckily for Pumas – he was offsides. No goal.

The rest of the game really looked to be in Pumas’ favor with most of the shots going their way. Chivas was forced into some saves that sent the ball sprawling back into the box, but the follow up shots from Pumas were either deflected or sent wide.

One of Pumas’ better chances came in the final minutes of play when Israel Castro (I think) ripped a long range shot that beat the keeper and knocked the same post that kept Pumas from going one nil up earlier in the half.

Although Pumas will be happy with a point, it was a game against a top team that could have seen Pumas walk away with three points. Rodríguez was an all-star in the net for Pumas and Scocco looked good as well. In fact, most of the Pumas players appeared to be playing decently, with the exception of Paco Palencias whom I thought should have left the pitch at half-time or shortly after. Of course this probably has something to do with the suspension of Parejita.

Pumas: 8/10 | Chivas: 8/10
Final Score: Pumas 0 - 0 Chivas

The Columbus Crew took on FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park in Dallas today for the first annual Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup. The Pioneer Cup is meant to remember Lamar Hunt, who passed away in mid-December of 2006.  Hunt was a "pioneer" of futbol in America and has made it into the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta New York.  He truly pushed futbol in America owning both the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas giving both teams football specific stadiums.  The first and third in the MLS respectivley.  (The LA Galaxy was second.)

Although it was touted as a "Cup Match" of sorts, in truth it was just another pre-season game for two average teams looking to figure out their season line-ups before it actually starts in a mere three weeks.  Neither team really showed much in the first half.  It was a slow, slow half.  Very few chances from either team, although, at half-time it looked like the game could still go either way.

The second half was a bit of a different story than the first.  Both teams came out looking mediocre to start but Columbus quickly picked up the pace and started to look a little bit more like a professional footballing team.   In the fifty-eighth minute Joe Ngwenya put the first in  for Columbus.  O’rourke fired a shot from outside that knocked the cross bar and landed at the feet of Stefani Miglioranzi who showed some intelligence when he dropped the ball back to Ngwenya.  From there it was an easy task for Ngwenya to slot home on the opposite post side.

The second goal came four minutes later in the sixty-second minute and was again do to some work from Miglioranzi who was able to control the ball on the eighteen yard line and dish the ball out wide for an oncoming  Kei Kamara.  Much like Ngwenya’s first Kamara sent Shaka Hislop scrambling to the far post.

The game soon returned to it’s lack luster first half play with the brief chance of a Ned Grabavoy goal in the seventy-sixth minute.  Grabavoy did well to show his personal skill and beat the defense only to attempt to chip Hislop and send his shot high.

The Columbus Crew would finish the night up with a third goal in the eighty-fifth minute from Aaron Chandler, only four minutes after he came onto the pitch. Again the assist came from Miglioranzi who sent Chandler wide.  Chandler sent a blistering shot at Hislop which should have been blocked, but somehow managed to sneak by the ageing keeper.

The MVP of the match was awarded to Ngwenya, who took some good shots, but the real star was Miglioranzi who managed to really change the face of the game when he came on early in the second half.  Hopefully both of these teams will step up their game for the upcoming season.