CHIVAS USA vs. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
THE HOME DEPOT CENTER, Carson, Calif.
May 11, 2008 | 12 noon PT (TeleFutura; FSN-W; TV38)
WEEK # 7 | GAME # 48
Two of the top outfits from a season ago who have struggled in the early going meet at The Home Depot Center when the New England Revolution make the cross-country trip to face Chivas USA. A year ago, Chivas USA led the league in shutouts and had the second-fewest goals allowed; they come into the game off their first clean sheet of the season, which put an end to a three-game losing skid. The Revolution have yet to put together back-to-back wins - or losses, or ties - this season, but come off a second heavy defeat by the Chicago Fire this year.
REFEREE: Mark Geiger. SAR (bench): Anthony Vasoli; JAR (opposite): David Bragg; 4th: Kevin Stott
MLS Career: 36 games; FC/gm: 31.6; Y/gm: 4.1; R: 7; pens: 14
INJURY REPORT: CHIVAS USA - OUT: FW Alecko Eskandarian (L groin strain), DF Alex Zotinca (R knee ACL surgery); DF Lawson Vaughn (facial injury); MF Raphaël Wicky (R ankle sprain) ... NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION - DOUBTFUL: MF Sainey Nyassi (L quad strain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Shalrie Joseph (R knee sprain); PROBABLE: FW Taylor Twellman (R meniscus surgery); DF Rob Valentino (R foot bone bruise)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: CHV: Jorge Flores (U.S. U-20 national team)
SUSPENDED: CHV: Claudio Suarez (through May 11)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHV: Maykel Galindo; Shavar Thomas ... NE: Amaechi Igwe
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (6 meetings): Chivas USA 2 wins, 6 goals ... Revolution 2 wins, 6 goals ... Ties 2
AT CHIVAS USA: (3 meetings): Chivas USA 2 wins, 4 goals ... Revolution 0 wins, 1 goals ... Ties 1
• This is first of two meetings between the teams this season, the only one set to be played in Carson. Their lone meeting back East is set for Sept. 11 at Gillette Stadium.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
6/30: CHV 2, NE 0 (Marsch 60; Galindo 89)
7/7: NE 1, CHV 1 (Dorman 64 - Suarez 4)
• The teams concluded their season series in a seven-day span a season ago, with Chivas USA winning at home in the front half of the home-and-home set, the teams then playing to a draw in New England.
• The visiting team has yet to win in the all-time series. Each team has won two of their three home games, with one draw.
• Coaches record: Preki vs. NE: P2 W1 L0 D1 ... Steve Nicol vs. CHV: P6 W2 L2 D2
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA put an end to their three-game losing skid but still failed to get back into the win column, battling to a scoreless draw with the Houston Dynamo last Saturday night at Robertson Stadium. Chivas USA have five points from six matches, tied with Real Salt Lake for fourth place in the Western Conference, three points behind the LA Galaxy and just four points out of first place.
LAST MATCH
• The Dynamo received their championship rings from their 2007 MLS Cup victory, looking to claim a first victory on the season after five matches, the second-worst start ever by a defending champion. Chivas USA had demons of their own to exorcise, with three consecutive losses after a season when they claimed the Western Conference regular season title.
• Chivas USA also came into the match with the most goals allowed after conceding less than a goal per game the year before, but goalkeeper Brad Guzan made five saves for his first clean sheet on the season, including a point-blank save on Corey Ashe late in the match.
• The Dynamo played the final eight minutes a man up after Claudio Suarez was sent off for pulling down Brian Mullan from behind when he looked to go clean through on goal. Referee Jozef Batko issued eight yellow cards in addition to the ejection in the physical match.
• Chivas USA head coach Preki made one change to the team that lost 5-2 to the LA Galaxy the week before, as Ante Razov came in for Justin Braun in attack, the first time all season Preki had his first-choice strike partnership of Razov and Maykel Galindo together.
• Here's Preki's team (4-4-2): Brad Guzan - Lawson Vaughn (Chris Pozniak 13), Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas (Jim Curtin 62), Jonathan Bornstein - Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza - Maykel Galindo, Ante Razov (Justin Braun 78). Substitutes Not Used: Atiba Harris, Dan Kennedy, Daniel Paladini, Keith Savage
• "We knew it was going to be a tight game, a hard-fought game," Preki said. "I'm proud of my group for the way they played, the way they came out, the way we defended."
TEAM NEWS
• Chivas USA had allowed a league-high 13 goals in the first five games of the season. Despite losing defender Lawson Vaughn in the 12th minute after with a broken nose and a gouge on his cheek from the boot of Houston's Dwayne De Rosario, the back line of Vaughn, Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas and Jonathan Bornstein held the Dynamo attack in check. Guzan contributed five saves, including two in the closing minutes to preserve the tie.
• "We cleaned up a lot of things on defense, and all the credit goes to the back four," Guzan said. "You saw Lawson get smacked in the face, goes out with a broken nose. That's what it's about. Claudio was the man tonight. He played very, very well, Shavar played very well and Johnny played very well, as well."
• It was the first clean sheet of the season for Chivas USA, who led MLS with 14 a season ago while conceding only 29 goals, second-fewest in the league.
• "This year, we haven't been fully committed to our game," midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. "Tonight we really showed that we're fully committed to each other. ... I think we were successful tonight in establishing what we wanted to on the field defensively."
• Forwards Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov started the game together for the first time since September of last season.
• "I thought we had some decent chances," Kljestan said. "The shot that Ante ripped from the outside, Boswell makes a good block. They made some good plays defensively as well, but we really have to get better on the goal if we want to get three points."
• The game featured a total of nine cards: eight yellow and the red shown to Suarez in the 82nd minute. It matches the highest total in MLS so far this year, when nine cards were also issued in the Chivas USA-Columbus Crew match on April 12.
• "It's always a physical game," Guzan said. "That's the style that they play. They always bring a hard, physical game, and we know that. It's no surprise. To compete with them, you have to be able to battle. You have to be able to get in on tackles and get in on tackles and get in on headballs and all that. You have to know that it's not always going to be pretty."
• The draw broke Chivas USA's three-game losing streak, during which the team was outscored 11-5. The last time Chivas USA lost three games in a row was in 2005.
• "We're a good team," Guzan said, "and I think the last two games are the first times that we've had our starting lineup from last year, which is good. We just have to keep plugging along. The game here is actually a good result for us."
• On Friday, Chivas acquired veteran midfielder Carey Talley from Real Salt Lake for a conditional pick in either the 2009 or 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Chivas also waived defender Chris Pozniak, while defender Dan Gargan announced his retirement.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution went down to a second heavy defeat by the Chicago Fire this season, falling 3-0 at Gillette Stadium last Saturday evening. With just one win in their last four matches, the Revolution are locked into a three-way tie for third place in the Eastern Conference, with 10 points along with the Kansas City Wizards and Toronto FC, six points behind the first-place Fire.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire had won three of their last four games, while the Revolution were back at home after ending a two-game winless run with a victory at FC Dallas.
• In the first meeting between the teams in the season opener, the Fire claimed a 4-0 victory. After 29 minutes in the rematch, a similar result was on. Putting together a 13-pass movement from their own goalkeeper into the Revolution end, John Thorrington split the New England defense with a pass to Chris Rolfe all alone at the top of the area, and he lashed home a shot on the half-turn for his first goal on the campaign.
• Thorrington doubled the lead five minutes after the break with his third goal in two games. Rolfe sent in a low cross from the right flank, Chad Barrett laid it off back to Thorrington just outside the area, and he curled home a shot inside the right-hand post.
• Stephen King then completed the rout with his first professional goal. Barrett took a pass from Cuauhtemoc Blanco at the edge of the box, but saw his shot blocked by New England 'keeper Matt Reis as he raced off his line. But King was able to hook the looping rebound back into the unguarded goal from the penalty spot.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made three changes to the team that defeated FC Dallas 1-0 10 days previously. Chris Albright and Jeff Larentowicz both returned from injury and Mauricio Castro from suspension, as Amaechi Igwe, Chase Hilgenbrinck and Gary Flood went to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Chris Albright, Michael Parkhurst, Jay Heaps - Wells Thompson, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Khano Smith (Steve Ralston 54) - Mauricio Castro - Kenny Mansally (Argenis Fernandez 74), Adam Cristman (Kheli Dube 55). Substitutes Not Used: Gary Flood, Chase Hilgenbrinck, Amaechi Igwe, Doug Warren
• "We were consistent, but consistently bad," Nicol said. "We were second tonight. Every way you look at it, we were second. We didn't move the ball quickly. Give them credit. They've outdone us tonight."
TEAM NEWS
• Plagued by slow starts for most of the season, the Revs couldn't really gain a foothold in the Fire match. Seven of the 10 goals allowed on the season by the Revolution have come in the first half.
• "You need to move the ball quickly," Nicol said. "If you don't, teams are going to be able to keep tight against you. They get the goal, which makes it easier to run forward when you're one-nil up. We tried to push the game, but above the neck, we were pretty dead tonight."
• Said midfielder Shalrie Joseph: "From the start, we weren't playing our normal style of game," Revs said. "We weren't passing and we weren't moving the ball like we normally do. Whenever we tried to get going, we gave up a soft goal. We gave up two or three soft goals tonight."
• Nicol was also concerned with his team's mental approach to the rematch with Chicago.
• "We're coming off losing 4-0 to them at their place. I certainly expected us to be up for it and ready to go. Certainly, all the talk before, I thought we were (ready). But talking is easy-peasy; it's what you do on the field that counts. And you have to be prepared mentally. We have to sit down and look at what we did this week, and try to figure out why we were so dead in the brain tonight, because that's really what we were: we were dead above the neck. So we have to figure out why."
• Still, there was a bright spot when Steve Ralston returned to action for the final 36 minutes, his first appearance since being injured in the season opener against Houston.
• "You could see the difference when he came on. He can keep the ball, can play the through ball, he takes up good positions to give and receive it and good positions when we lose it," Nicol said. "He's just a quality player."
• "I'm not 100 percent, but I felt good. It was nice to be back and be part of it and play. It's disappointing and not the result we were looking for," Ralston said. "Playing at home, losing 3-0, is not acceptable. We pride ourselves on doing well at home and tonight, just wasn't good."
• Nicol said the inability in fielding a regular first team has also contributed to the up-and-down start. The Revolution have used 18 players this season - after using 19 all of last season - and this year's group does not include Taylor Twellman, injured since the start of the season.
• "They got a lot of numbers behind the ball. I thought (our) final pass wasn't there. I feel like we could have gotten the ball wide, gotten more crosses and stretched them out a bit more ...," Ralston said. "We have to do a better job and make the final pass. We have to figure out a way to break teams down."
