Monterrey Vs. Pachuca: Lazy Tuzos Gift Rayados A Second Goal

During a seemingly innocent sequence, Pachuca have given Monterrey a second goal thanks to a bad error. The assist and finish on the goal were top drawer, but the reason the Rayados got the ball in the first place certainly was not.

Following Pachuca winning back possession after a Monterrey attack, goalkeeper Miguel Calero passed the ball out wide to Julian Anchico. He made a mess of his touch, giving possession back to Monterrey. After an exchange of passes between the Monterrey attacking players, Humberto Suazo eventually sent a looping cross from the right to Neri Cardozo, about 10 yards up the pitch from the far post. Cardozo took a great touch and struck the ball into the ground, bouncing it off the pitch, over the hand of Calero and into the back of the net.

Pachuca looked to have almost no way back into the match once they went down to ten men, but now that they are down 2-0, their chances of a result look even more slim. It’s easy to wonder what might have been in this second half had the referee not shown an unjustified red card to Leobardo Lopez, not that it matters. If “ifs” and “buts” were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.