Admittedly, Thursday's scoreless draw between Chivas USA and FC Dallas was far from pretty. But an ugly game could have an even more devastating effect on Chivas' chances in the upcoming MLS Cup Playoffs.
After the game, Chivas USA head coach Preki said that forward Ante Razov, second on the team with 11 goals and eight assists, injured his left knee in the 70th minute after clearing an FCD free kick. He will undergo an MRI on Friday and could miss as much as four to six weeks.
"We lost Ante (Razov) right away when he tweaked his knee," Preki said. "We've got to move on and hopefully, he gets better fast."
For the second game in a row, neither Razov nor Maykel Galindo (12 goals) were in the Chivas starting lineup, though both came into the game for about the final 25 minutes. Chivas managed just nine total shots in the contest, with only one on target, yet still extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games.
"It was a hard game," said Preki. "No team created a lot (of chances) and it was a defensive battle in the middle of the field. I thought we worked hard and tried to get some more leaders on the field at the end of the game."
The lone shot on goal for Chivas was their first of the game, a 16th-minute blast by Sacha Kljestan that was saved by FCD goalkeeper Ray Burse. But in the 76th minute, the visitors looked to have pulled ahead when Francisco Mendoza beat Burse, but his tally was waved off after Mendoza was ruled offside, much to Preki's chagrin.
"I was disappointed because I got a few text messages telling me that (Francisco) Mendoza was clearly onside when he scored that goal and that's the third time it's happened to us lately where we have gone to score a goal and the referee has flagged us down," Preki said. "That's very disappointing."
When Razov and Galindo did come on, the potent duo made things happen quickly.
"Those are the guys who have played the majority of the season for us and when they come in, they understand how the game is and what their responsibilities are," Preki said.
The Red-and-White played the final nine minutes a man up after FCD right back Bobby Rhine was sent off after a verbal altercation toward referee Brian Hall. Preki said he did not see the infraction.
"I didn't see it," he said. "One of my players was laying on the other side of the field and the next thing I know, it's a red card."
Chivas defender Shavar Thomas was pleased at leaving Frisco with a point and knows that he and his mates now look toward a Sunday date with Colorado, where they can clinch the top spot in the Western Conference race and home-field advantage in any potential conference championship match.
"That keeps our confidence up because we were able to get a point out of this game," Thomas said. "This keeps our playoff hopes and confidence high going forward. We definitely want to clinch that spot and I think a win will allow us to do that. What better place to do that than at home?"
But while Thomas was happy with the draw, Kljestan wasn't quite so pleased.
"I guess we're happy with the point," he said. "I'm not too excited about it because I had some golden opportunities tonight to win the game and didn't put them away to help my team. That's a little disappointing."
Kljestan sees very few things that need fine tuning for Chivas heading into the postseason. "There's not much we have to tweak," he said. "We have to get a little more fine-tuned in front of goal. We had a couple of chances tonight that we didn't put away and that obviously haunted us. In the past, when we have had our chances, we put them away."
Like Thomas, he is eagerly anticipating his side's final two matches of the regular season being in the friendly confines of The Home Depot Center. Chivas USA will meet Houston Dynamo in the season finale on Oct. 20 in a matchup of what will be the top two teams in the Western Conference.
"It's important because we've been undefeated at home this year," Kljestan said. "I've been saying let's make history and be only the second team since San Jose to not lose at home. We've got two games to do that and one of them really matters on Sunday. If we get the win, the other one couldn't matter at all. As long as we get a win on Sunday, we won't care what happens in the following game."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
