A year ago, Chivas USA played poorly against the Kansas City Wizards but secured a playoff spot nonetheless.
On Saturday, the same scenario played out with one major difference: Chivas USA won their playoff-clinching match against the Wizards.
Ante Razov scored his second goal of the match in the second minute of stoppage time as Chivas USA beat Kansas City 2-1. The Red-and-White moved atop the Western Conference table but, perhaps more importantly, wrapped up a postseason berth.
"It feels really good to win when you don't play well," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "From the get-go we weren't sharp like we normally are but give the guys a lot of credit. They found a way to get the result."
Kansas City had more shots (12-9), more shots on goal (5-4) and dictated the pace of the match but left the match empty-handed nevertheless. Still, Preki did not exactly feel sympathetic for his former team's plight.
"I'm not going to feel bad about this one because earlier in the year when we played in Kansas City I totally thought we dominated that game but we managed to lose it," he said. "Sometimes it kind of evens out."
The Wizards came out and attacked Chivas USA in places they didn't expect. Eddie Johnson and Ryan Pore -- who started but left the match in the 27th minute with an injury -- ran at Chivas USA's defense and disrupted its rhythm from the start.
"Their pressure was a little bit higher than we thought they would. They kind of threw us off," Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. "I don't think we were very sharp tonight. I don't think our passing was good. Our movement off the ball and our organization was not good at all. We'll look at the tape and we'll sort it out for Saturday."
Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan went so far as to call the performance one of the "worst games we've played at home this year."
The club still improved its league-best home record to 10-0-2.
"At home we've usually been way more dominant than the other team but tonight Kansas City ... made it hard on us," Kljestan said. "This game and the Salt Lake game (on Aug. 26) which we won 1-0 were probably the two worst games we've played at home this year but we still came away with wins so that's a sign of a good team."
Despite their poor play, Chivas USA opened the scoring first when Razov buried a ball on the doorstep past Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Francisco Mendoza slipped a ball to the front of the goal and Razov finished it off for his 108th career goal, tying him with RSL head coach Jason Kreis on the all-time list for the moment.
But the Wizards answered three minutes later when Eloy Colombano -- who replaced Pore in the first half -- tapped in a rebound after Johnson hit the crossbar in the 72nd minute.
With time running out, Lawson Vaughn made a nifty pass to Razov.
"They just all kind of ran into the box, all the defenders, and I just kind of popped out to the top of the box and luckily Lawson saw me and gave it to me," Razov said. "I was pretty surprised that they let me turn to my left and I just aimed at that far corner and luckily I caught him."
It was league career goal No. 109 for Razov, and he's now just one behind D.C. United striker Jaime Moreno. As well, Chivas is now just two points behind United in the race for the Supporters' Shield, with five matches yet to play.
Sitll, Razov said the win came with a bit of luck.
"We're lucky to get a goal at the end there and take the three points, answer the bell and keep fighting for the Western Conference title," Razov said. "To get in on a night when you don't play your best against a difficult team is a nice thing. We know we have to improve, games are going to get harder but it's still nice to walk away with a win."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
