Chivas USA are without their top two scorers, Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo, who combined for 23 of 46 Chivas goals in the regular season. They could have used more offense in a 1-0 loss to the Kansas City Wizards in the first leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday night, but you won't hear that as an excuse, at least not from Chivas coach Preki.
"Injuries or no injuries. I'm proud of our guys," Preki said.
The match was played mainly in the trenches of midfield. Chivas employed a 4-5-1 formation, with Laurent Merlin starting as the lone forward and Sacha Kljestan in an attacking midfield role.
"The main thing was to play compact and control the game in the middle of the pack," said substitute forward John Cunliffe.
Looking ahead to next Saturday's return match at The Home Depot Center, Chivas was mindful of an opponent with many offensive options. Apparently, there were two goals for Chivas.
"The main thing was not to compete for too many goals," Cunliffe said.
The lone goal of the match came on a free kick by Wizards midfielder Davy Arnaud. His shot from 33 yards out deflected off Paulo Nagamura's face and dipped inside the near post.
"We got an unlucky goal against us," Preki said. "They feel very unfortunate that they lost that game and so do I."
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan echoed Preki's comments. "I think we dominated the game," Guzan said. "Look at the second half -- we dominated possession. We created the majority of chances just couldn't put one in the net."
The defensive effort by Chivas was stellar. The Wizards managed three shots on goal in the first half, but got none on goal in the second half. The total could have been quite higher, had the Chivas defense not deflected four shots in the span of about a minute.
"Guys were low and scrambling, closing the ball down and not giving them a free look," Guzan said.
The defensive effort and tactics might have led some to think Chivas was playing for a tie. Preki dispelled any notion of that strategy.
"I didn't go for a tie," Preki said emphatically. "I went for a win."
Chivas now heads home for the second match of the series, where they lost just one of 15 home games all season. It is still uncertain if Razov and Galindo will be available for Saturday's match.
"There's still 90 minutes of soccer to be played," Preki said. "I feel that we controlled most of the game tonight and am confident going back to L.A. I don't know who will be available for next week's game, but I know we will handle whatever happens."
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
