Since opening the season with a convincing victory, Chivas USA had played several quality games without notching their second win.
That all changed Saturday with a 1-0 whitewash of Chicago. The win came at precisely the right time for the Red-and-White.
"It was important to win a tight 1-0 game and important to win at home," Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley said. "I hope that it's a little bit of confidence, a little bit of reward for the team because it's necessary to keep everybody moving forward."
Chivas will enter Saturday's home game against Colorado with a 2-4-1 record. Although Bradley feels his side could have taken points away from some of the games Chivas lost or tied, it is important to keep going forward, he said.
"If you break the season down into quarters ... we've got to make sure now that we come through the first eight games in a solid way," Bradley said. "You can look at the fact that there have been some tough breaks or you can look at the fact that the schedule hasn't been kind but nonetheless it's important for us to make a statement and this group has to do it now with winning some games."
A win on Saturday would give Chivas 10 points and keep the club in the playoff hunt. Had Chivas not beaten the Fire, the club would not have been within reach of the double-digit mark this soon and perhaps the pressure to win games would have mounted.
However, Bradley insists that the pressure for wins is ever-present regardless of recent results.
"The pressure is never off," Bradley said. "The pressure is on every week to win games and to take points. That's the pressure we put on ourselves because we think we're a good team."
After going nearly one month between home games, Chivas will play four of five games at The Home Depot Center. On April 29, Chivas played New York to a scoreless draw in Carson. On May 27, Chivas returned home and beat Chicago. Next up is a home game against Colorado on Saturday before playing the second Súper Clásico against the Galaxy on June 8, which is technically a road game. Following a June 11 game at FC Dallas, Chivas returns home to face Columbus on June 18.
Getting wins at home is just another step in the evolution of the club, Bradley said.
"We're concentrating on the fact that good teams know how to win at home, good teams know how to win on the road and good teams know how to put a little bit of a streak together," Bradley said. "That's our challenge in this next part of the schedule."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
