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COLORADO RAPIDS v CHIVAS USA
INVESCO FIELD at MILE HIGH, Denver, Colo.
7:30 p.m. MT (Altitude; FSN-PT)
June 21, 2006 (WEEK 13) / MLS Game #75
The Western Conference clubs are meeting for the second time in less than three weeks, after Chivas USA put an end to the Rapids three-game unbeaten run with a 4-1 win at The Home Depot Center on June 3. Colorado has played just once since, a victory at home against Real Salt Lake two Fridays ago. Chivas meanwhile come into the contest after a dominant victory against the Columbus Crew last weekend, their fourth victory in their last five outings.
REFEREE: Mauricio Navarro. SAR (bench): Amato DeLuca; JAR (opposite): Anthony Vasoli; 4th: Ben Chouaf
MLS Career: 2 games; FC/gm: 40.5; Y/gm: 4.5; R: 0; pens: 0
MLS 2006: 2 games; FC/gm: 40.5 (avg: 29.7); Y/gm: 4.5 (avg: 3.79); R: 0 (MLS: 9); pens: 0 (MLS: 17)
Games involving Rapids: first game
Games involving Chivas USA: first game
INJURY REPORT: COLORADO RAPIDS - OUT: MF Matt Crawford (R hip); PROBABLE: MF Jacob Peterson (L hamstring) ... CHIVAS USA - OUT: MF Ramón Ramírez (L knee MCL sprain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: COL: Pablo Mastroeni (USA; 2006 World Cup) ... CHV: Claudio Suarez (Mexico; 2006 World Cup); John O'Brien (USA; 2006 World Cup)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS: COL: Kyle Beckerman (suspended next yellow card)
LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (5 meetings): Rapids 3 wins (0 shootout), 10 goals ... Chivas USA 1 wins (0 shootout), 8 goals ... 1 draw
IN DENVER (2 meetings): Rapids 1 win (0 shootout), 3 goals ... Chivas USA 0 wins (0 shootout), 2 goals ...1 draw
This is the second of four meetings between the teams this season, the first of two in Denver, and the second of three meetings in barely six weeks. After meeting June 3 in Carson, they will complete the season set in the Mile High City in a July 21 matchup. Their final encounter will be Sept. 23 on Victoria Street.
A year ago, the Rapids took three of the four meetings between the club in Chivas USA's inaugural season, with the fourth match ending in a draw.
Coaches record: Fernando Clavijo vs. CHV: P5 W3 L1 D1 ... Bob Bradley v COL: P24 W12 L9 D3LAST MEETING
6/3: CHV 4, COL 1 (own goal 6; Razov 24; Mendoza 76; Palencia 85 - Ben Dayan (31)
Chivas USA rolled to a 4-1 victory on June 3 at The Home Depot Center. Bad luck struck the visitors after just six minutes. Left back Jonathan Bornstein knocked a low ball into the mixer from the edge of the area, and Rapids defender Mike Petke slid and tried to break up the ball, which was intended for Ante Razov, but instead sent the ball into the back of the net.
In the 24th minute, Ante Razov scored his 90th career MLS goal to double the Chivas lead. He was set free down the right flank by Juan Pablo Garcia and raced in unmolested before ripping a low drive past Bound Coundoul just inside the Rapids penalty area.
Colorado pegged Chivas back seven minutes later when Dedi Ben Dayan took a short pass from Jacob Peterson, recollected the ball after a somewhat fortunate bounce as he tried to split a pair of defenders then jammed home a low shot inside Preston Burpo's left-hand post.
But Chivas finally put the game away with a pair of goals inside the final quarter-hour. A neat combination saw Razov slide the ball into the area for Juan Francisco Palencia, and as he rounded Coundoul, the ball rolled to Francisco Mendoza, who gleefully punched the ball home. Nine minutes later Mendoza returned the favor, splitting the Rapids defense with a through ball that Palencia poked home underneath the advancing 'keeper.
Here's Bob Bradley's team (4-4-2): Preston Burpo - Lawson Vaughn (Carlos Llamosa 82), Tim Regan, Jason Hernandez, Jonathan Bornstein - Juan Pablo Garcia (Brent Whitfield 83), Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Francisco Mendoza - Juan Francisco Palencia, Ante Razov (Matt Taylor 89). [Substitutes Not Used: Brad Guzan, Drew Helm, Rodrigo Lopez, Orlando Perez]
Here's Fernando Clavijo's team (4-3-1-2): Bouna Coundoul - Hunter Freeman, Mike Petke, Aitor Karanka, Eric Denton (Nicolas Hernandez 71) - Terry Cooke, Kyle Beckerman, Dedi Ben Dayan - Jovan Kirovski - Clint Mathis (Thiago Martins 82), Jacob Peterson (Daniel Wasson 59). [Substitutes Not Used: Joe Cannon, Dan Gargan, Luchi Gonzalez, Chris Wingert]COLORADO RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids return to action for the first time in nearly two weeks, after winning a third consecutive match on their home ground, a 1-0 victory against mountain state rival Real Salt Lake on June 9 in Denver. The Rapids are now in third place in the Western Conference with 17 points from 11 matches, four points behind second-place Houston Dynamo but just a point ahead of Chivas USA.
LAST MATCH
The second Rocky Mountain Cup meeting of the season was on display after the teams battled to a 2-2 draw two weeks earlier in Salt Lake City. But Real came in riding a four-game unbeaten streak - the longest in club history - while the Rapids hadn't lost to their mountain state rivals in the last four meetings.
The game's lone goal came courtesy of Nicolas Hernandez in the 16th minute. He latched on to the rebound of attempted through ball that was blocked by a Real defender, skipping past a pair of RSL defenders before hammering a wicked drive over a stranded Scott Garlick.
The win kept the Rapids perfect in Rocky Mountain Cup games on their home ground, with three wins in three encounters, five goals scored and just one allowed.
Rapids boss Fernando Clavijo made two changes from the team that lost 4-1 to Chivas USA on June 3 in Carson. Joe Cannon returned after missing four starts to injury, replacing Bouna Coundoul between the posts. Nicolas Hernandez returned to the Rapids attack as Dedi Ben Dayan was dropped.
Here's Clavijo's team (4-3-1-2): Joe Cannon - Hunter Freeman, Mike Petke, Aitor Karanka, Eric Denton - Terry Cooke (Daniel Wasson 82), Kyle Beckerman, Jacob Peterson (Dan Gargan 66) - Clint Mathis (Thiago Martins 58) - Nicolas Hernandez, Jovan Kirovski. [Substitutes Not Used: Dedi Ben Dayan, Bouna Coundoul, Luchi Gonzalez, Chris Wingert]
"We had to get the three points at home," said Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo. "We had a really bad taste from the last game we played in Salt Lake ... They [RSL] are a very different team than they had in the past. Salt Lake is a very good team, they fought all the way through the game, and we did well to get the three points."TEAM NEWS
Nicolas Hernandez was partnered in attack with Jovan Kirovski, with Clint Mathis in the playmaking role for the Rapids. But the surprising tactical move by Clavijo was the exclusion of midfielder Dedi Ben Dayan. Ben Dayan had started the last five games and had scored goals in the last two. But Clavijo opted for Jacob Peterson on the left side of the Rapids midfield - and that proved a key to victory. The rookie was able to use his tireless motor to both range forward in the attack and track back to shut down dangerous RSL winger Chris Klein.
"Dedi is great at going forward, but tonight with Chris Klein on the wing [for RSL] going forward a lot for them, we had to make sure we made the right decision to not allow them to penetrate," said Clavijo. "Dedi is always going to be there in the mix for us and we will give him many looks in the midfield, maybe attacking midfield. We have options, and that is good."
Still, while the Rapids have won three of their last five games (with another drawn), all three victories have come by 1-0 scorelines. They've scored six goals over the stretch. "We need to work on being in the right place for the ball and attacking from different areas," Clavijo said to the Denver Post.
Cannon also returned to the Rapids lineup, making his first start since May 13, when he suffered a groin injury after just 10 minutes of an eventual 1-0 loss to the Columbus Crew. Cannon made five saves in recording the shutout, his first of the season. "To be honest, it's the best I've felt all year long," Cannon said to The Rocky Mountain News. "I feel fresh and I feel I'm still eager to play some games."
"He had a good week and a half of training with (goalkeeping coach) John Murphy," Clavijo said. "We have said all along that we would not bring him in just because he is healthy, he needed to have a good week of work, and he did."
Cannon had been very near to match fitness for a couple of weeks, but Clavijo's stance kept him sitting behind Bouna Coundoul. "I was very frustrated because of that," Cannon said. "If I'm not playing, it's my identity. I didn't leave San Jose and come to Denver just for the mountains."
Cannon was also concerned about his long distance kicking, but it was not a worry. "I told Jovan (Kirovski) before the game that I was going to have an extra 10 yards on these things," he said to the RMN. "As soon as I kicked four goal kicks in warm-ups and didn't feel anything, I was really excited, because I haven't felt like this probably in about a year."CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA won for the fourth time in five matches, cruising to a 2-0 victory against the Columbus Crew on Sunday evening at The Home Depot Center. Chivas remained in fourth place in the Western Conference with 16 points from 11 matches, now just a point behind third-place Colorado and eight points adrift of conference leader FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
Chivas USA saw their club record three-game winning streak put to an end the weekend before in a loss at FC Dallas, but had still had already matched their win total from their inaugural season, while the Crew had just one win in their last four games.
Ante Razov put Chivas into the lead after just five minutes, rising up above defender Ritchie Kotschau to head home Francisco Palencia's cross from the left touchline to create history, becoming the first player in MLS history to score at 10 goals in six different seasons.
Chivas dominated the proceedings, allowing the Crew just a single shot on goal, that coming midway through the first half. Then five minutes from the end the home side put the game away, Juan Pablo Garcia waltzing through the Columbus defense before shooting from just inside the penalty area and beating Noah Palmer inside his left-hand post.
Chivas USA head coach Bob Bradley made one change to the team that lost 2-1 to FC Dallas the previous Sunday at Pizza Hut Park. Carlos Llamosa returned to the back four as Lawson Vaughn went to the substitutes' bench, Tim Regan moving to a fullback role.
Here's Bradley's team (4-4-2): Preston Burpo - Tim Regan, Jason Hernandez, Carlos Llamosa, Jonathan Bornstein (Orlando Perez 89) - Juan Pablo Garcia, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Francisco Mendoza - Juan Francisco Palencia (Matt Taylor 80), Ante Razov [Substitutes Not Used: Esteban Arias, Rene Corona, Brad Guzan, Drew Helm, Lawson Vaughn]
"The first 30 minutes was some of our best soccer for the year," Bradley said. "We were particularly sharp. We moved the ball and we really seemed to move off the ball really well and create some great situations so that was nice to see."TEAM NEWS
Razov has scored five goals in his last four matches, and took over the MLS lead by two over Jaime Moreno, who also scored at the weekend in New England.
"He's off to a great start, and I can see every day when he comes in that the mentality is right and he wants to keep going," Bradley said. "I think he and Paco [Palencia] have really formed a good partnership, I think that they continue to push the rest of the players on the field, so that's been quite important."
In addition, Razov is pushing to join the MLS century club, now with 94 goals for his career. Only Jason Kreis (104) and Moreno (102) have more in MLS history. He is also on pace to break his career high of 18 goals set in 2000 with Chicago.
"You know I've been getting in good positions, and they've been getting me the ball, and Paco gave me a great ball and it would've been harder to miss that one," Razov said. "I give all the credit to my teammates." Said Jesse Marsch: "Right now, he's MVP. There is no doubt with the way he's playing. He's the leading candidate for MVP. There is no argument."
The one lineup change Bradley had over the past few matches was the return of Carlos Llamosa to central defense with Tim Regan moving to right back. That was a key in getting the fullbacks into the attack.
"In some of the cases when we were able to move the ball, there were openings for guys to get forward. And one of the things that Timmy [Regan] brings when he plays on the right side is a good sense of moving forward at the right time. He's obviously one of our fittest players so the ability to get forward and still recover and come back gives us good balance because Johnny Bornstein has been able throughout the year to do pretty well going forward," Bradley said.
"He's versatile enough that when we need him on the right he seems to settle in and do a good job there. He's a smart player, so we're fortunate that we can use him in a couple different roles and always know that he understands how to handle things. When he plays on the right I also think he does a really good job of working with (Garcia): talking to him, helping position him well. Timmy's got a good way of making the guys around him play better.
