After an important and convincing 3-0 victory Thursday against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA's task against Real Salt Lake on Sunday will be more difficult than it seems.
Although 21 points separate the clubs in the Western Conference table, the Chivas players are taking nothing for granted when they face an RSL side they hammered 4-0 on April 21.
"It's another difficult game," midfielder Paulo Nagamura said. "We've got Salt Lake who is fighting and trying to get better and I think it's going to be a hard game -- even playing at home."
Chivas won three of their four games on the recently completed road trip. A tough 3-2 loss in Kansas City was sandwiched between 2-0 wins in New York and Toronto. Thursday's victory was technically a Galaxy home game, and improved Chivas' road record to 4-6-2.
Maintaining their form and mentality is imperative, Chivas coach Preki said.
"After the game and the importance of the game, it's very important that we have the right mentality going into this game because we can't take this game lightly," Preki said. "Good teams, they don't just play one good game and then fall asleep. We've got to keep that mentality, that level. We raised the bar and now we have to keep that bar pretty high."
At 10-6-3, Chivas is in position to overtake FC Dallas and Houston atop the Western Conference table. Chivas USA's 33 points are just three less than the Hoops and four fewer than the defending champs, but Chivas has played two and three fewer games, respectively, than the Western frontrunners.
Chivas will have to deal with the losses of a pair of starters. Lawson Vaughn picked up a yellow card against the Galaxy and is out due to yellow-card accumulation while Alex Zotinca was sent off on Thursday and will be suspended for the game.
Nagamura, who suffered a knee injury in June, has played the last two games as a substitute. He might be in the mix to start. Also, newcomer Ramon Nunez could be in the mix as well. Nunez has played in both games as a substitute as well since joining Chivas on a trade from FC Dallas on Aug. 16.
One player who figures to be in the mix again is Jonathan Bornstein. The left-sided defender was kept out of Thursday's game because of his involvement in the U.S. national team's game in Sweden a day before. Though Bornstein was in uniform on the bench, Preki said Bornstein was only there for emergency purposes.
"I told him when he came into the stadium (that he wasn't playing)," Preki said. "He needs to do whatever it takes to get his legs back, recover and Sunday is most likely the day for him."
Bornstein said he was a bit restless sitting on the bench, especially when Jesse Marsch tackled David Beckham late in the first half, a move that touched off a near-brawl.
"There were moments I wanted to run on the field and try to do something," Bornstein said. "I think I was one of the first people when Jesse tackled him and when guys were getting tackled by other guys -- Pancho got hit in the back."
Though he wasn't a part of the match on the field, Bornstein said the team must maintain its focus heading into Sunday's match against RSL.
"We've just got to literally take it like we've been taking every game. We've got to focus on what's ahead of us," Bornstein said. "I don't think anyone is looking past it. The whole team is feeling pretty good about the last couple of games."
Also, Chivas' scoring output has been consistent as the club has scored 11 goals since a 2-1 win against Columbus on July 14.
"It's pretty good knowing that we've scored at least two goals in the last (five) games," Bornstein said. "We've just got to keep that mentality going."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
