What seemed like a lucky break was not quite as fortuitous as it seemed. At least, that's what Chivas USA players thought.
Terry Cooke broke open a scoreless match when he inadvertently put a ball past goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul four minutes in the second half as Chivas USA beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night.
While the bounce went the hosts' way, players and coaches refused to call it sheer luck.
"When you get a break like that, I think that lifts the spirits up a little bit," Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. "I don't believe in luck. You create your own fortune. The guys were great tonight."
Maykel Galindo scored a goal the more traditional way a quarter-hour later when he broke into the penalty area unmarked and slipped a left-footed shot past Coundoul. But the own goal helped Chivas gain some momentum early in the second half, lucky or not.
The victory is the third consecutive Chivas win and matches a club record that began at around the same time this year's streak started -- with a victory in late May.
"We're starting to click. We're starting to get little bounces that maybe we weren't getting ... maybe two months ago when it wasn't as bad as I thought," Chivas USA forward Ante Razov said. "We weren't losing that many games and we were hanging in there. It was just a matter of time before we started pulling things together."
After starting off the season with three losses in their first five games, Chivas USA have now gone five games without a loss. But the club came out sluggish in the first half regardless.
"I thought we were a little bit flat. They made it a little difficult for us. They pressed us a little harder than we expected. Give them credit," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "I thought they were going to come out and defend and they played a little differently. We got caught thinking we were going to attack and they were going to defend but it was the other way around."
Guzan helped keep Chivas in the match after an early turnover. Alex Zotinca failed to clear a long ball and the ball bounced in Herculez Gomez's path. Gomez ripped a 15-yard shot but Guzan parried the ball away.
"That's why he's an international goalkeeper," Preki said. "You need a goalkeeper to sometimes keep you in the game and he did a good job."
Colorado's Ugo Ihemelu did well to keep Galindo contained throughout the match. When Ihemelu was around Galindo, the Rapids defender neutralized Galindo's pace and kept Galindo away from the ball with his body and physical style.
But Ihemelu was helpless to stop the game's first goal. Sacha Kljestan crossed a ball from the right flank to the far post. Cooke darted in but was apparently unaware of the ball's trajectory. It bounced off Cooke and past a helpless Coundoul, who had sprung off his line to chase the cross.
Though it may have seemed to be a lucky bounce, Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said it was more than that.
"That was a result of actually having a little better understanding," Marsch said. "Between Sacha getting a little space, what kind of ball he's going to play, what kind of runs our forwards are going to make and in the end those balls that are in between, that tempt the goalie and are on the backline, are hard to deal with."
With the Rapids forced to play forward more often, Galindo struck. Marsch fed Galindo, who sprinted past Rapids defender Brandon Prideaux and raced into the penalty area alone. Galindo beat Coundoul and scored for the sixth time this season.
Galindo did well to find space and avoid Ihemelu's marking in the second half as Galindo went wide to the right more often.
"We didn't intentionally push him (there)," Preki said. "We just told Maykel 'find the space, find the space' and obviously in the second half he found space where he could operate a little bit more. Give him credit -- he scored one but he could have scored actually three goals."
Razov said the club hopes to keep the positive vibe flowing.
"Now, you get it rolling a little bit and it kind of snowballs," he said. "When teams are on a good run, things always seem to go their way: a call, maybe a bounce or whatever. It's good. We're playing good soccer and we're getting those things going for us."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
