Pumas vs Chivas Guadalajara final score: Fernando Arce gives Chivas 1-0 win over UNAM
By Josh Sanchez
On Sunday afternoon, the quest to avoid relegation for Chivas Guadalajara continued as they took on Pumas UNAM at Estadio Olímpico Universitario in one of the final matches in Week 2 of Liga MX Apertura play.
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Chivas entered the match without a win at Ciudad Universitaria in nearly ten years.
When the final whistle blew, it was Chivas who earned a 1-0 win and the highly coveted three points.
In the first half, Chivas looked a lot more impressive than they had on the opening weekend of the season during their 1-1 draw with Chiapas, but Pumas was a tough test that was creating some quality scoring chances of their own.
Jesús “Chapito” Sánchez was providing some great pacing for the Chivas attack by moving forward from his right back position. That allowed Chivas to create more shot opportunities, but Pumas was still dominating possession in the first half of the match.
Two yellow cards were handed out in the closing minutes of the first half to Angel Reyna Martinez of Chivas and David Cabrera of Pumas, as we entered the break with a scoreless tie.
Chivas opened up the second half with a brilliant scoring chance deep in the box, but the Pumas defense was able to dig deep and come up with a huge stop when it seemed like the goal was a certainty.
Pumas had a great chance of their own ten minutes later that was created by a deep run from Javier Cortés Granados, but Chivas goalie Jose Rodriguez came up with a giant save of Matías Britos’ shot that kept the scoreboard even at zero.
Fernando Arce had an opportunity to score his second goal for Chivas this season, and he fired off a booming shot that was just high and bounced off of the crossbar.
In the 76th minute, Angel Reyna Martinez was sent off with a red card after tossing the ball to the head of Pumas midfielder David Cabrera. It was Reyna’s second yellow of the match. The first yellow came after arguing with the ref, so both bookings could and should have been avoided.
In the 86th minute, Fernando Arce struck again with a beautiful free kick from 30 yards out to beat Alejandro Palacios to the bottom right corner to give Chivas the lead. It was Arce’s second goal from a free kick two weeks into the Apertura.
As the frustration mounted for Pumas, David Cabrera picked up his second yellow card of the day and was sent off in stoppage time.
The late goal from Arce was all that Chivas needed to come away with the win on Sunday afternoon.
Be sure to stay tuned to FanSided.com throughout the 2014 Liga MX Apertura for the latest news and results.