Saturday's victory against D.C. United might have held within it a sign of things to come for Chivas USA.
One goal opened up the floodgates as the Red-and-White beat United 3-1. Now, the club hopes that one win will also have a similar effect on their upcoming matches.
"Now is an important time," Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. "We've moved a few points closer to first place and it's a time where if we win two or three games in a row we can put ourselves in first place just with how the Western Conference has been going so far. We've just got to play with confidence right now."
Confidence was something the club had been lacking. A 1-4-2 record had contributed to the decline in self-belief. Injuries and a sieve-like defense also played a role in the team's slow start.
But when the club finally found a bit of what brought the team success a year ago, everything seemingly clicked instantaneously.
"When the first goal came, I really felt that we could score a second or a third just with our momentum and that's what happened," Kljestan said. "Atiba (Harris) did well on all three goals. We caught some lucky bounces but give credit to him for fighting his butt off."
Against D.C. United, Chivas USA did well to turn the tide that had plagued the team this year. D.C. became the sixth team to score first against Chivas USA this season, but unlike the other five games, the Red-and-White finally came from behind to post a victory.
It was the first-ever such victory for the club, but perhaps more importantly it gave the club a possible glimpse into the future by taking a page out of the past.
"We've seen what we can do when we can move the ball," Kljestan said. "In the second half we moved the ball real well and kind of got back to the way Chivas plays. That was Chivas out there."
Now, the club will prepare for the Colorado Rapids. Whether or not Chivas USA can regain any of its injured players back for the match will be played out this week. Defenders Shavar Thomas and Claudio Suarez and forward Maykel Galindo appear the most capable to regain their health.
Still, regardless of who plays and who is not healthy enough to make the trip to Colorado, the groundwork for success has been laid out, though it was not exactly followed on Saturday.
"Our team to be successful, we need to play with leads. That's what we're good at," Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "When we get a lead, we can start knocking the ball and opening the other team up, then we can get the second and the third goal and the whole bit. That part was good and it felt like our old team."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
