This one turned in to an ugly affair folks and at the end of the match, it was Pachuca CF who came away with some legitimate grievances.
The first half was certainly all Houston Dynamo but, as I stated last night, while their penetrating runs were effective, particularly the work of Dwayne DeRosario, their final passing was never really on target. Both teams went in to the break tied 0-0.
The second half showcased a Pachuca side that was lit on fire! I'm not sure what Enrique Enríquez said to the Tuzos, but they were hammering in chance after chance while Pat Onstad struggled to stay afloat in the net.
Finally, the Pachuca effort paid off about twenty minutes in - or so they thought - with a brilliant run and finish by Gabriel Caballero that was disallowed. However, the linesman may need to get his prescription checked because to all even casual onlookers, there was nothing offside about that play.
Pachuca seemed to have lost the wind in their sails after this piece of bad officiating and Houston capitalized on their lackluster defending, with Corey Ash nodding and Bobby Boswell flicking their two game winning goals in within easy range.
The result stood at Houston 2 - the defending champions Pachuca 0 and the final whistle resulted in a release of frustration by the Mexican side. Security personnel were needed to escort the refereeing team safely off the pitch. Let's hope for some good football and fair officiating in tonight's other semifinal match.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea: SuperLiga2008.com
2 comments:
When watching the highlights on MLS.com it looked to me like he was offsides. Maybe I need glasses.
ha! - I was watching last night and from the camera angle I had, the run was timed perfectly (and I'm a converted defender). That being said, I've also run line before and I think I'd rather ref.
Post a Comment