For all the lows Chivas USA has suffered through this season, the club may have hit yet another low on Saturday.
After the club's 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center on Saturday, Chivas USA coach Hans Westerhof sat calmly and spoke plainly about his team's performance.
"We're disappointed because we lost points but also because we really played better than the Galaxy," Westerhof said. "We took the initiative, we spent about 80 percent of the time on the Galaxy's side of the field and had twice as many scoring chances but that doesn't matter. Only goals and points matter.
"I think our team gave everything it had. We had nothing else to give."
Ultimately it was a frustrating result for Chivas to play one of its best games of the season and still come away empty-handed. Chivas controlled the match throughout. In the first half, the Red-and-White played better than their counterparts. By halftime, Chivas had a 7-2 edge on total shots, a 4-1 advantage in shots on target.
The Galaxy made some changes at halftime, bringing in Cobi Jones and Chris Albright, but Chivas still led the charge.
"We took it to them. We had possession. We were knocking the ball around. We were organized and compact. I think we played one of the best first halves of our season so far. We played together, we battled and we took the initiative," Chivas 'keeper Brad Guzan said. "But at the end of the day, you look at the scoreboard and it's not what we wanted."
Chivas played without captain Ramon Ramirez, out on yellow card accumulation. But the Red-and-White had last week's hero, Matt Taylor, as well as Wednesday's stars, Thiago Martins and Isaac Romo, on the field. Yet aside from a few scoring shots inside the box, the Galaxy did well to contain Chivas USA's attack inside the penalty area.
Also, a bit of the ever-present bad luck only complicated matters for Chivas. Herculez Gomez's 64th-minute goal, which came on a well-placed 25-yard bomb, hit the only seam it could have to settle in the back of the net.
"Luck just doesn't seem to be on our side," Guzan said. "That goal ... another inch to the left and it hits the center of the post and goes out and we continue playing 0-0 and the game doesn't open up like it does."
Chivas continued to pressure the Galaxy but L.A.'s defense stood firm.
The loss, however, did not completely wipe away all the momentum built up from two wins in the week leading up to Saturday. Chivas beat Real Salt Lake 5-1 a week ago and ousted USL side Charlotte from the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday with a 3-2 win.
"This is definitely another step," Chivas defender Francisco Gomez said. "We've got to keep going forward. We can't just hold back on this and say 'We should have, we could have.' We've got to keep working and put our heads up."
Still, it was another loss from which to try and find a positive angle.
"In the end, it's the score that matters," Gomez said. "The last couple of weeks ... we've shown what we're capable of and we definitely showed that today. We came out playing our style of soccer and what we wanted to do. We didn't wait for them to play their game. We took our game to them and that's what we want to continue doing but in the end, they scored two and we scored zero."
Compounding the result was the opponent to which the game was lost.
"Unfortunately we came away with nothing and that's hard to take. One, because we need the points and two, because it's the Galaxy," Chivas defender Ezra Hendrickson said. "We're happy because we're playing better but you can't be satisfied. You put yourself in a position to come away with some points 65-70 minutes into the game ... and they get a goal and we have to open up and try to push for a goal."
With Chivas pushing forward in stoppage time, the Galaxy struck again as Gomez took the ball near midfield, raced alone toward the goal and easily beat Guzan. Still, the players said that conceding that goal was not important.
"If you lose by one goal or two goals, it doesn't matter," Hendrickson said. "It's not a situation where aggregate counts."
Now, Chivas must prepare for New England. Afterward, the entire team will take a break as no Chivas players made the MLS All-Star team. It will be back toward the club's improbable search for the playoffs and a U.S. Open Cup match against the Galaxy after that.
"We have another game before the break and we want to get three points there and get in a position for when we come back to make a push at the playoffs," Hendrickson said.
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
