Chivas USA | Global Football Today

Bieler brace powers Sporting KC to 4-0 victory over Chivas USA

Posted by Matthew Martin on May 6, 2013 at 1:02 pm Chivas USA, Global Football Today, MLS, Sporting KC

May 062013

Bieler brace powers Sporting KC to 4 0 victory over Chivas USA

Nielsen sets Sporting KC’s all-time regular season shutout record

Claudio Bieler opened the scoring in the 41st minute with Graham Zusi claiming the assist. Bieler doubled Sporting KC’s lead in the 57th minute after converting a penalty kick drawn by Paulo Nagamura. Zusi added a goal to his tab in the 65th minute while Josh Gardner, in his debut for Sporting Kansas City, provided the assist. C.J. Sapong secured Sporting Kansas City’s victory in the 87th minute when he notched his first goal of the season.

Jimmy Nielsen’s clean sheet marked his 38th with the club, the most in team history. The win also marked Peter Vermes’ 50th as manager for Sporting Kansas City.

The victory improved Sporting Kansas City’s record to 5-3-2 and puts them in a three-way tie for first place in the Eastern Conference.

It was Sporting Kansas CIty with the first chance of the match, arriving in the 10th minute when Zusi crossed the ball to Jacob Peterson, who did well to find space deep in the box and sent in a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

Eight minutes later, Zusi played a similar ball across the mouth of the goal to Peterson, but it was just beyond his sliding reach. The 21st minute saw another chance for the home team, orchestrated by Zusi once again when he evaded Chivas USA’s backline and nudged the ball out wide to Bieler, but his looping chip on frame was skillfully headed out by Joaquin Velazquez.

Peterson again proved to be a thorn in Chivas USA’s side when he found himself unmarked on the right flank, cut to the middle and shot low but Kennedy deflected the shot.

Sporting Kansas City’s persistence paid off in the 41st minute when Peterson forced a turnover by Chivas USA, nudged the ball to Zusi who slid it to Bieler on the right. The Argentinean Designated Player evaded Kennedy and shot a cool and collected ball into the back of the net, notching his fifth goal of the season while Zusi claimed his fourth assist.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Zusi nearly doubled Sporting Kansas City’s lead when he fired in a dangerous cross that went unmet.

The second half commenced with the same fervor and Sporting Kansas City dominating the game. In the 54th minute Kennedy denied Paulo Nagamura of a goal-scoring opportunity inside the box and was shown a red card prior to the penalty kick. Bieler converted the penalty, notching his second goal of the game and his sixth of the season.

Zusi tripled Sporting Kansas City’s lead in the 65th minute after her met Gardner’s cross at the mouth of the goal, got a neat touch on it and sent it in past goalkeeper Patrick McLain. The goal marked Zusi’s third of the season and Gardner’s first assist.

Sporting Kansas City secured their victory with a fourth goal in the 87th minute with a strike from Sapong. Mechack Jerome served in a low cross to the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year, who re-directed the service with a first-time volley to the far post.

4 Goals for Sporting

Posted by Brian Sanders on May 6, 2013 at 12:04 pm Chivas USA, Global Football Today, MLS, Sporting KC, United States

May 062013

Coming into the match it was a question of who was going to be rotated with a midweek fixture to deal with but in the end Sporting Kansas City didn’t need their full strength side as they dispatched with Chivas USA 4-0 on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

While it would be easy to talk up the good performance by the offense, especially the brace for Claudio Bieler, it must be said that it was the solid defensive display by Sporting KC in the 38 shutout in the MLS career of club captain Jimmy Nielsen.

Former Wizard legend Tony Meola, MLS MVP in the 2000 championship season, previously held the record of 37 while at the club. Nielsen is the 17th player to hit this number and did so in the fewest games played(104).

Aside from the landmark set by keeper Nielsen the second string back-line of Seth Sinovic, Aurelien Collin, Ike Opara, and Mechack Jerome was able to hold Chivas from having a shot on goal.

The defense has been the backbone of the squad in their successes and it must be said that with this result with two of the four typical members of the defense out there is evidence the the depth has been built and when the fixture list will thicken with the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League there will be the trust of the fans in whomever is in the starting 11.

Up top it was the club designated player, Claudio Bieler, who scored a brace that was all that was needed. The first, before halftime Bieler needed to cut back to score. Bieler’s second came from the spot kick as he was brought down in the box by Chivas keeper Dan Kennedy, who was surprisingly issued his marching orders, putting it past new keeper Patrick McLain to give him six on the year; a place on top of the Golden Boot award.

The goal scoring was finished up by Graham Zusi and CJ Sapong who were able to benefit from being up a man as each goal was the cap on a strong offensive move involving many Sporting players.

With a match against Seattle Sounders, a re-match of the 2012 US Open Cup final, on Wednesday it would seem that Peter Vermes has been able to rotate his squad to meet the demands and with the good performances of the bench players it can be expected that

Sporting KC hosts Chivas USA on Cinco de Mayo

Posted by Matthew Martin on May 4, 2013 at 12:36 pm Chivas USA, Global Football Today, MLS, Sporting KC

May 042013

Sporting Kansas City takes on Chivas USA for the third of four consecutive matches against Western conference opponents at 4 p.m. CT on Sunday at Sporting Park. Tickets are available for the match online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Offices.

The match, sponsored by Deffenbaugh Industries, will be nationally broadcast on UniMas and shown live locally on KSMO-TV with coverage starting at 3:30 p.m. CT. The game will also air live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340 AM.

Sporting Kansas City is undefeated in their previous four matches with Chivas USA, including three victories over the past three seasons. The two clubs have played at Sporting Park on one prior occasion, which resulted in a 1-1 draw on July 9, 2011. The Sporting KC equalizer was earned in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

The last time these two clubs met resulted in a 1-0 victory in favor of Sporting Kansas City. C.J. Sapong converted the game-winner on an assist by Graham Zusi, the 2012 MLS assist leader with 15. A year earlier, Sapong scored his first professional goal in his MLS debut against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center before going on to earn 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year honors.

Chivas USA head coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola records his first visit to Sporting Park since taking the helm of Chivas USA, marking Sporting Kansas City’s second consecutive match against a first-year MLS manager. Sanchez Sola is 3-3-2 on the season and Chivas USA currently sit tied for fourth place in the Western conference.

Chivas USA most recently earned a 2-2 result against the San Jose Earthquakes with goals from Mario de Luna and Tristan Bowen, both players first goals of the 2013 season. Chivas USA will be without the club’s leading goal scorer Juan Agudelo and Ecuadorian midfielder Oswaldo Minda due to injuries.

Sporting Kansas City is 7-4-4 against Chivas USA all-time and 4-1-2 at home in the series. Sporting KC is coming off back-to-back losses to the LA Galaxy and the Portland Timbers. Last Saturday, Sporting Kansas City’s 10-game home-unbeaten streak was snapped in a 3-2 loss to the Timbers in the second-highest scoring game in MLS this season.

Sporting Kansas City’s Jacob Peterson made his first appearance since undergoing shoulder surgery during the offseason, entering in the 61st minute of the match last Saturday. Sporting Kansas City midfielder Paulo Nagamura has started and played every minute except for one during the first nine matches of the 2013 MLS regular season. Nagamura came to Kansas City in November 2011 after five seasons with Chivas USA.

The match also features both goalkeepers from the 2012 AT&T MLS All-Star Game in Sporting Kansas City’s Jimmy Nielsen and Chivas USA’s Dan Kennedy. With a shutout on Sunday, Nielsen would surpass Tony Meola for most shutouts in club history with 38. A Sporting Kansas City victory will mark Manager Peter Vermes 50th win while leading the club.

The Goal Drought Is Over, But Chicago Still Have A Long Way To Go

Posted by Jeff Engelmann on March 24, 2013 at 7:57 pm Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Global Football Today, MLS

Mar 242013

The Chicago Fire are keeping the bottom of the Eastern Conference Table warm after a tough home loss this afternoon to Chivas USA, 4-1.

The wind whipped strong though Toyota Park as the fans filed in to watch this weekends match between the Chicago Fire (0-2-1) and Chivas USA (1-1-1). Chicago hope they can find the back of the net for the first time this season in a game where the home advantage may be a factor. Chivas have played all of their games so far this year in LA and with the wind chill hitting 24 degrees at kickoff. Chicago need to take the wind and the cold and turn them in their favor.

On the field Chicago brought out a 4-2-3-1 formation featuring newcomer Wells Thompson at right back and goaltender Paolo Tornaghi. Chivas put forward an aggressive 3-4-3 formation which has been standard for them under El Chelis.

Chicago had a chance to strike early when in the second minute, Sherjill MacDonald made an excellent overlapping run down the left. The pass was threaded through by Alex and MacDonald struck the ball but the shot flew straight at goal keeper Dan Kennedy, who easily made the save.

The fire didn’t go back on their heels, and in the fifth minute they had a chance on a set piece. Hoping to take advantage of Chivas’ short back line, Midfielder Dan Paladini sent in a beautiful in-swinging cross. Chicago had a chance to capitalize but the play was stopped short by an excellent clearance by the Chivas defense.

Again, in the tenth minute Paladini sent in a looping ball from a set piece on the left side. The ball was headed goalward but was forced wide by a great reaction save by Dan Kennedy.

Wells Thompson was called upon in the game several times, and grew into his position as the game progressed. Chivas frontman Juan Agudelo tended to favor the left side of the pitch challenging Thompson who is new to the right back position.

Chris Rolff had a chance to end Chicago’s scoring lapse with a ripe opportunity when a pass threaded the defense in the 39^th minute providing him with a wide open break away chance on the Chivas goaltender. Kennedy had other plans and timed his run out to the ball well, sliding to deny the Chicago veteran.

Dan Paladini has had another strong showing throughout this game. He created chances on offense and worked hard on defense, playing the midfield position how it’s meant to be played. His persistence almost paid off in the 50^th minute when he had a ball slotted through the back line by Alex onto his perfectly timed run. He took an extra step at the goaltender and let the ball go toward the bottom left corner, glancing off the outside of the post the ball wound behind for a goal kick.

Chivas found the Score board in the 57^th minute with a lovely strike from Chivas midfielder Edgar Mejia. After a corner kick Chicago was unable to find all of the opposing men on the field. The ball caromed from one Chivas player to another until popping out onto the waiting foot of Mejia who sent a rocket ball with eyes into the top corner of the net.

In the 65^th minute Chicago carried the play up the right side of the field. The ball was sent into forward Sherjill MacDonald who corralled the ball and with a clever piece of footwork pushed the ball past three defenders to Patrick Nyarko. Nyarko took a touch and slyly slid the ball under Dan Kennedy. Finally, drought over, and all the fans in Toyota Park breathed a sigh of relief as The Men in Red put home their first goal of the season. Chicago Fire’s Section 8 Fan area, not willing to settle for a tie, immediately began the chant, “One more Fire, one more.”

There would be one more, at least one, unfortunately it would not come from Chicago in fact Chivas would begin its assault shortly after Chicago equalized. In the 74^th Minute from a set piece on the left, the ball was crossed in and Chicago’s goaltender came out to play the ball but misjudged the distance. He tried to recover and back into the right position but found himself in no-mans-land. Chivas’ Joaquin Velázquez was wide open on the back post to finish it off with a well-placed header.

Chicago were reeling and just two minutes later Juan Agudelo would make it a two goal game. Chivas would retrieve the ball after play started again and a chip pass from 45 yards out on the left side was floated in on the wind. The Chivas forward made no mistake about it, curling the ball past the Chicago goaltender into the bottom right corner of the net.

In the last twenty minutes Chicago pushed players forward looking to get pressure in the offensive third. It worked but Dan Kennedy stood tall stopping a barrage of Chicago Fire strikes, including a header from Jeff Laretowicz that was The Fire’s best chance after their goal.

And there is nothing like adding insult to injury and that is just what happened in the 89^th Minute when Jalil Anibaba sent the ball into his own goal.

When the final whistle went it was a welcome relief to the floundering Chicago Fire, who walked away dropping 3 more points on the season.

So the goal drought is over, but Chicago have yet to win a game and with only one point so far this season, there is a long road ahead of them if they want to get back into contention. Chicago now have two weeks off to go over the tapes and contemplate how they can muster their first win in the match April 7^th at home against the New York Red Bulls.

Chicago Fire Play Host to Chivas USA in Critical Home Game

Posted by Jeff Engelmann on March 23, 2013 at 12:00 pm Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Global Football Today, MLS

Mar 232013

The Chicago Fire, still winless, play host to Chivas USA tomorrow at Toyota Park at 4:00 PM CT. Both teams are coming off Draws and look to add points to their respective team’s tallies. Chicago hope to replicate last year’s result in this, the only meeting between the Fire and Chivas this year.

The game will likely showcase yet another player on the right side for the Chicago Fire. With injury still plaguing them, their back line will likely have holes once again. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson and midfielder Joel Lindpere will also be out as they are on international duty for USA and Estonia respectively.

Chicago Injury Report:

Out:

Arne Friedrich– Right Hamstring Tightness
Michael Videira– Concussion
Victor Pineda - Meniscus Repair

Questionable:

Steven Kinney– Right Quad Strain
Dilly Duka – Left Hamstring Tightness

With so many out and others questionable, it will be interesting to see what line up is put on the pitch by Coach Klopas.

The Fire will certainly be looking to their role players to put forward a strong game. Previously in the week the Fire were unsure of the status of Logan Pause. The start of fifth string defender Wells Thompson seemed imminent. “I’m getting there,” Pause said after Wednesday’s training session. “I’m definitely still inching along, but I’m definitely at a point where I feel like I’m helping the team.” In the last few days news came out that he is most likely set to go for this Sunday’s game.

The Fire need to find the finishing touch. In their last three games their counter attack has been decent but the finishing has been nonexistent. Chicago are still looking for their first goal of the season. It is hard to say exactly where the scoring trouble is coming from but it is a fact that they have only produced 22 shots so far this season. Chicago is a long ball and counter attack team but even with that being said, 22 shots is only two more than Sporting KC were able to muster in the game against Chicago last week.

Chicago have a week off following this game and, sitting at the bottom of the table, really cannot afford to drop any more points in this crucial home game.

The Fire’s ability to capitalize on the chances they create will most likely determine the outcome of this game. Coach José Luis Sánchez Solá has gone on record saying that he would rather lose 5-4 than win 1-0 playing conservatively. I think we will see a much more desperate Chicago team, and with them likely seeing a lot more opportunities, I predict a 2-0 victory in this game.

Chivas USA are coming into the game off of a strong, shorthanded, come-from-behind draw against the defending Champion LA Galaxy in the SuperClasico.

Chicago (0-2-1) vs Chivas (1-1-1)

Kick off will be at 4:00PM CT and will be broadcast on My50 Chicago.

Sep 032012

Portland vs. Colorado

The Portland Timbers won back-to-back matches for the first time this season and finally escaped the Western Conference basement in a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Read more about this match on the GFT Portland Timbers blog.

New England vs. Philadelphia

It was the second 0-0 draw in a row for the Union, who had more opportunities against the Revolution but couldn’t convert. The Union had the two best chances of the match when Amobi Okugo’s header hit the crossbar, and Andre Hoppenot’s breakaway opportunity was parried away by New England’s Matt Reis. With Saer Sene out for the rest of the season, Jay Heaps will have his work cut out for him trying to find someone on the Revolution to score goals.

Columbus Crew vs. Montreal Impact

The Columbus Crew won the battle between two of MLS’ hottest teams thanks to a late goal from Edgar Renteria to defeat the Montreal Impact 2-1. Here’s the recap from our Columbus Crew blogger.

Sporting KC vs. Toronto

It wasn’t the prettiest match, but Sporting KC came through with two second half goals from Paulo Nagamura and Oriol Rossell to defeat Toronto FC 2-1. Here’s more thoughts on this match from our Sporting KC blogger.

Real Salt Lake vs. DC United

There was a lightning start to this match in Sandy, Utah and I mean literally as two lightning strikes in the fourth minute of play led to a weather delay of 1 hour and 24 minutes. Real Salt Lake’s Will Johnson got the lone goal of the match early in the second half when Paulo Jr.’s cross was deflected and Johnson split two defenders and put the ball away past keeper Bill Hamid. Kwame Watson-Siriboe had a goal in the 61st minute but it was waved off when Watson-Siriboe was called for handling. Things got chippy between both sides in the second half and four yellow cards were handed out in the last twenty minutes. The win kept Real Salt Lake in 2nd position in the Western Conference with 46 points. The loss pushed DC United into 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 41 points. They trail the Columbus Crew by 1 point for the 5th and final playoff spot.

Los Angeles vs. Vancouver

Los Angeles got a spectacular goal from Juninho and yet another direct free kick goal from David Beckham to deal the Vancouver Whitecaps its 4th straight defeat. Here’s the full recap from our Los Angeles Galaxy blogger.

Chicago vs. Houston

The Chicago Fire used a first-minute goal from Patrick Nyarko to jumpstart themselves to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo were playing their 2nd match in 3 days and it showed. The Fire meanwhile were well rested after coming off a 10 day break. Daniel Paladini and Alex rounded out the scoring for the Fire while Brian Ching got the lone goal for the Dynamo. The victory lifted the Fire into 3rd place (44 points) in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Dynamo. The Dynamo, on the other hand, are struggling at the wrong time and are now winless in their last six matches.

FC Dallas vs. Seattle

Steve Zakuani made his first MLS start since breaking his leg 500 days ago and got an assist to help the Seattle Sounders remain undefeated at FC Dallas with a 1-1 draw. Zakuani blew past FC Dallas fullback Zach Loyd and sent a cross to the back post which connected with Mauro Rosales for the match’s opening goal. FC Dallas equalized in the 32nd minute when Loyd redeemed himself with a cross in front of goal which Blas Perez controlled and sent to Jackson who knocked it in the back of the net. The draw wasn’t good enough for a FC Dallas club (33 points) trying to gain ground on the struggling Vancouver Whitecaps (37 points) for the 5th Western Conference playoff spot. The draw also kept Seattle in the 3rd playoff spot with 44 points, trailing only Real Salt Lake (46 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (53 points).

San Jose vs. Chivas USA

The San Jose Earthquakes continued their stellar play at Buck Shaw Stadium scoring 3 of their 4 goals on direct free kicks to crush Chivas USA 4-0. Victor Bernardez’s free kick got things started for the Earthquakes and Simon Dawkins added a goal in the run of play to give his team a 2-0 lead going into the half. Chivas USA were in decent attacking form throughout the match but just couldn’t make good when it counted. The Earthquakes Ramiro Corrales capped off his team’s rout with two free kick goals in the 2nd half. The victory puts San Jose in sole possession of first place in the race for the Supporter’s Shield. The loss continued a trend of bad form for Chivas USA, who have given up 18 goals over the last 5 matches.

UPCOMING MLS ACTION:

Aug 272012

Philadelphia v Real Salt Lake

Poor NBC Sports. This match was a stinker. Real Salt Lake was pretty tired from playing in the CONCACF Champions League earlier in the week and the Philadelphia Union are never a guarantee to play any form of attractive soccer. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. Man of the Match went to the MLS video crew who somehow were able to fill up a highlight video over 4 minutes long.

Montreal v DC United

The Montreal Impact continue to be one of the hottest teams in MLS right now after registering their 5th win in a row, defeating DC United 3-0. Troy Perkins registered his second shutout in his third game with the team and Marco Di Vaio gave the Impact the lead for good in the 24th minute, getting his 3rd goal of the season. Patrice Bernier continued his fantastic season scoring two second half goals to seal the victory. DC United coach Ben Olson received a bit of criticism after the match after deciding to sub out star players, Dwayne DeRosario and Chris Pontius in the first half. The Impact are now only 1 point out of the 5th Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Columbus v New England

This was an absolute goalfest with Columbus defeating New England 4-3. Read the entire match recap from GFT Columbus Crew blogger, Adam Uthe.

Houston v Toronto FC

Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear could not have been happy on Saturday night after seeing his team dominate a good portion of the match only to allow Toronto FC to equalize in the 85th minute. The Dynamo took the lead in the 21st minute when Will Bruin chipped the ball over a charging Freddy Hall. After a stellar first half, the Dynamo couldn’t maintain the same level of energy. Toronto finally took advantage of some sluggish play from the Houston backline after Terry Dunfield made a run through box and connected with a Darren O’Dea cross to steal a point for his team.

San Jose v Colorado

The Earthquakes got two goals each from Simon Dawkins and Alan Gordon to demolish the Colorado Rapids 4-1 and extend their home winning streak to 14 games. Gordon continued his stellar play which resulted in a call up to the United States National Team earlier this month. He now has a career-high 11 goals. San Jose remains the top team in MLS with a 15-6-5 (50 points) record. For the Rapids, at least they were able to pad on more air miles to their account. It was a truly dismal effort, even with it being on the road, for the Rapids.

Vancouver v Portland

The Portland Timbers finally got their first win under Gavin Wilkinson (0-5-2 in the previous 7 matches) and also went to the top of the Cascadia Cup standings after beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Saturday night. Darlington Nagbe became the first Timbers player to get a goal in three games in a row and Franck Songo’o scored his first career MLS goal off a free kick to lead the Timbers. The Vancouver Whitecaps continued their struggles on the road this season and are now in the midst of a six match winless streak on the road. Read more about this match on the GFT Portland Timbers blog.

Seattle v Chivas USA

The Seattle Sounders put on a goal-scoring clinic and thoroughly embarrassed Chivas USA in a 6-2 drubbing at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Fredy Montero’s first MLS hat-trick propelled the Sounders to an easy victory and their fourth in five matches. The Sounders are now 2nd in the Western Conference standings and their recent form has put the rest of the league on notice as one of the teams to beat in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Despite some promising trades and signings this summer (Danny Califf, Juan Agudelo, Shalrie Joseph) and having one of the top goalkeepers in MLS, Chivas USA can’t seem to right the ship and there’s no doubt that Robin Fraser is on the hot seat.

FC Dallas v Los Angeles

Galaxy take sole possession of the Western Conference’s fourth position by punishing FC Dallas mistakes to win 2-0. Read more about this game from our LA Galaxy blogger, Vincent LaRosa.

Sporting KC v New York

As if Sporting KC’s 1-1 draw to the New York Red Bulls wasn’t disappointing enough, Coach Peter Vermes also had to deal with the news that Teal Bunbury would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL injury. Read more about this match from Sporting KC blogger, Brian Sanders.

UPCOMING MLS ACTION:

Finally Some Recognition

Posted by GFT Editor on April 17, 2012 at 1:26 am Chivas USA, MLS

Apr 172012

Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy was named MLS Player of the Week following his shutout of Toronto FC this past weekend. Kennedy made four saves, including one in the 89th minute when he blocked Danny Koevermans’close range shot giving the Rojiblancos a 1-0 victory, and their third consecutive win on the road.

Kennedy is tied with FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman for the most saves in the league with a total of 23, and this past weekend’s clean sheet was also his second of the season.

I’m glad Kennedy is finally getting noticed he is a rock at the back and is continuing the success he had last season where he made 32 appearances and kept nine clean sheets making him among the top five goalkeepers last season and was named Chivas USA’s Most Valuable Player.

Well done Dan you deserve it.

On The Road Again

Posted by GFT Editor on April 15, 2012 at 2:48 am Chivas USA, MLS

Apr 152012

Chivas USA were able to fend off a late rally from Toronto FC to stake a 1-0 victory at BMO Field on Saturday. continuing a great run of form for the Goats away from home.Chivas has now won its first three road games of the season to set a franchise record, while TFC also set a new mark on Saturday by losing for the fifth time in as many games to give Toronto its worst start in the history of the club.The visiting side certainly didn’t create many chances but made the most of a first-half set piece as Oswaldo Minda got on the other end of a corner kick from Miller Bolanos to turn a header inside the near post in the 31st minute.

Toronto wasn’t very threatening in the first half either and its best chance came shortly before halftime as Joao Plata struck the post.Chivas was content to sit back and defend its lead and had to withstand some heavy pressure from the home side over the final 20 minutes.Danny Koevermans was set up for a good opportunity by Plata but goalkeeper Dan Kennedy came to the rescue to deny the effort.Kennedy needed a bit of help in the 80th minute to keep Chivas ahead as Ryan Johnson got into the area and fired a shot that the ‘keeper could only get a hand on. The ball was headed toward the net but defender Heath Pearce got back to clear it off the line.Eric Avila came off the bench to provide a spark for Toronto and he nearly set up the equalizer with a right-wing cross that Johnson headed inches past the post.Plata and Koevermans combined once again in the 89th minute to leave the Dutchman with an open shot at goal from eight yards. However, he fired the ball straight at Kennedy, who was able to tip it past the post to preserve the victory

Undone in Extra Time

Posted by GFT Editor on March 12, 2012 at 6:16 pm Chivas USA, MLS

Mar 122012

Chivas USA were just a minute away from getting a point in their first match of the new MLS season, but a Houston Dynamo goal in the 92nd minute made that chance disappear into thin air.

With a new season brought lots of changes for the Rojiblancos. Chivas USA introduced eight new players to the line-up four of them in the starting eleven. Chivas USA coach Robin Fraser was without Michael Lahoud and John Alexander Valencia both out with injuries. Fraser decided to go with a 4-5-1 formation with Juan Pablo Ángel as the lone striker, but it would be goalkeeper Dan Kennedy who would receive most off the accolades after the match and rightly so.

Kennedy made seven saves in the match, with his first in the 13th minute. Houston’s Geoff Cameron released Brian Ching behind Chivas ‘defense, but Kennedy retrieved the ball before Ching was able to shoot. Kennedy had another great save in the 25th minute when he blocked Will Bruin’s shot with his leg.

Chivas had a few chances to get on the scoreboard in the first half. In the 38th minute Laurent Courtois sent in a cross, but Oswaldo Minda headed the ball way off target. A few minutes later Juan Pablo Ángel nearly broke the scoreless draw when his tap-in off a Laurent Courtois corner hit Houston’s keeper Tally Halls’ left post.

Fraser decided to bring some fresh legs into an attack that appeared to be lagging midway through the second half by introducing Cesar Romero and Ryan Smith in the 58th and 65th minute . Smith’s inclusion nearly paid off in the 70th minute when his cross from the left flank found Ángel in the box. Unfortunately, Ángel lifted an open header over the crossbar.

Kennedy was called into action again blocking consecutive shots from Adam Moffat and Bruin, but he could do nothing about Brian Ching’s volley in the 78th minute, but luck was with Chivas on this one as the ball hit the post.

It appeared Chivas USA were heading for a draw in their opening match, but everything changed in stoppage time. Off a corner kick Chivas USA were only able to clear the ball to Adam Moffat who took a shot from the edge of the area that somehow found it’s way to Andre Hainault who quickly turned and fired past a diving Kennedy. All of Chivas USA’s work undone in the dying minutes of the match.

“There was no need to and no sense in hanging our heads, we’ll come back and we’ll look at the things that we didn’t do well enough and continue to pound away at the things that we did do well,” said Fraser. “We’re a group that is building and if this game is a starting point for what is a relatively new group, I’m encouraged about where we’re going to be.”

Chivas USA return to the Home Depot Center this weekend to face the Vancouver Whitecaps at on Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 pm (PT). The match will be broadcast on television, live on KDOC in English, and KWHY Channel 22 in Spanish.

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