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Super Chivas stumble, suffer stunning exit from Copa

By Thomas Buckley

ZAPOPAN, MEXICO - JANUARY 25: Players of Chivas pose for photos prior the 3rd round match between Chivas and Toluca as part of the Torneo Clausura 2020 Liga MX at Akron Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Zapopan, Mexico. (Photo by Refugio Ruiz/Getty Images)
ZAPOPAN, MEXICO - JANUARY 25: Players of Chivas pose for photos prior the 3rd round match between Chivas and Toluca as part of the Torneo Clausura 2020 Liga MX at Akron Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Zapopan, Mexico. (Photo by Refugio Ruiz/Getty Images) /
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Second-division Sinaloa eliminated Guadalajara in a Round of 16 Copa MX match when goalie Luis López blocked a Miguel Ponce penalty kick in the shootout.

Guadalajara’s splashy winter transfer activity was supposed to lead directly to hardware, but the Dorados of Sinaloa scuttled Chivas fans’ pipe dreams of a double on Tuesday night.

While Chivas general manager Ricardo Peláez – touted as Executive of the Year before the Clausura 2020 even started – prayed from a box seat in Sinaloa’s Estadio Banorte, the Dorados went a perfect 6-of-6 from the penalty spot before 20-year-old keeper Luis López rejected the Chivas’ sixth shot. Dejected Chivas players trudged off the field with the realization that one trophy chase was over less than one month into the new season.

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The second leg of the Round of 16 Copa MX contest kicked off with the Dorados holding a 2-1 advantage after a shocking 2-1 win at Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron on Jan. 22.

New Chivas acquisition Cristian Calderón knotted up the elimination game in minute 24 with a nifty bicycle kick off a corner kick. No doubt, fans of “El Rebaño Sagrado” believed it was only a matter of time before the faucets opened. But Sinaloa was having none of that.

The ebb and flow of the match was riveting and the Dorados held their own, creating several scoring chances and forcing Chivas goalie Raúl Gudiño to display his athleticism.

Guadalajara was without top transfer J.J. Macías – a thigh injury has the prolific striker sidelined for two weeks – and the unique Copa MX rule mandating minutes for U-20 players meant coach Luis Fernando Tena was not fielding his top 11. Still, five of Peláez’s transfer studs were on the pitch at the opening whistle and four – Calderón, José Juan Vázquez, José Madueña and Uriel Antuna – played the entire match. Yet the Super Chivas could not find the winning goal.

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