Juárez Women saw off Pachuca 1-0 in the opening Regular Season fixture of the Liga MX women's competition on Saturday evening. The visitors' persistence in attack finally paid off when N. Palafox found the net in the 86th minute to secure all three points at home.
And here's the thing — you could see the match turning even before the goal arrived. By then, Pachuca had been pushing forward but couldn't get a shot on target all evening. Their four attempts either side of the target told you everything about a side struggling to find their rhythm against a well-organised defence.
Juárez made several changes to their shape throughout the contest, bringing on M. Rodriguez in the 21st minute and M. Vance shortly after the interval. K. Nieto followed in the 65th minute before N. Granados came on with ten minutes remaining, but none of those alterations could quite shift the momentum until Palafox's finish.
The statistics painted a clear picture of who was playing better football. Hosts registered four shots on target against Pachuca's zero, while both sides enjoyed equal possession at half. Three yellow cards appeared in the second half alone — N. Nicosia for Juárez in the 42nd minute, then two for the visitors in quick succession.
To be fair, neither side created anything like the chances their shot totals might suggest. The difference came down to efficiency, and that's what separates teams at this level. Juárez's four-on-target count versus Pachuca's empty tally showed who was getting closer to breaking through.
The result keeps both sides on course for their respective positions in the table. Juárez sit seventh with twelve points from six matches, while Pachuca languish in eleventh place on seven points. That gap of five points feels significant this early in the season.
What matters now is whether Pachuca can find something in their game. They've lost three and drawn one of their opening six fixtures, and this defeat extends that difficult run. Juárez, meanwhile, have won four of their first six — a record that puts them in a comfortable position.