Chivas USA came into the second game of their second season looking to build upon a terrific start, a season-opening 3-0 whitewashing of Real Salt Lake. In the end on Saturday afternoon, Chivas USA lost their first game of the year, 2-0 to D.C. United, but were unfortunate to not come away with a victory, or at least a tie.
After a back and forth first half in which the best chances came from D.C. United, Chivas coach Bob Bradley had his players more active to start the second half. They responded by peppering the United defense with a relentless attack. Five minutes into the half, it seemed they had taken the lead.
In the 50th minute, a rebounded shot off the post by striker Francisco Palencia from the left side was buried into the net by midfielder Juan Pablo Garcia, who was waiting to pounce right at the penalty spot. However, the referee's assistant had already raised his flag for an infraction as play progressed, negating the goal.
Celebrations by Chivas players again quickly turned into disbelief after Jaime Moreno gave United a 59th-minute lead. D.C. midfielder Brian Carroll committed a hard foul at the top of the box in the 83rd minute, giving Chivas a direct kick.
Ante Razov stepped over the dead ball and Garcia ripped a strike past United 'keeper Troy Perkins. The ball hit the underside of the post and went straight down towards the goal line. Many Chivas players began celebrating what they thought was the tying goal.
Referee Marcel Yonan differed in his opinion and, despite Chivas objections, play resumed.
"It was very close," said Chivas coach Bob Bradley. "The replays of the free kick seemed to indicate the ball was over the line."
As Chivas pushed for a late second-half goal to tie the game, United countered in stoppage time down the wing through speedy Jamil Walker, a 79th-minute substitute for forward Alecko Eskandarian. Walker maneuvered behind the defense in the penalty area and slotted a ball back towards the top of the box for Moreno to deftly beat Guzan to the upper left-hand corner for his second goal of the game.
Palencia was disappointed with the loss but declined to place blame on the officials. "[D.C. United] is a really good team and will fight for the championship," he said.
But Palencia said he also believes Chivas are already much improved from the inaugural version.
"I am happy with the team because we fight [as a team]; we are practicing, playing, fighting, and talking," Palencia said. "We are much better than last year."
Tim Regan, one of four new starting defenders for Chivas USA this year, agreed with Palencia.
"I thought we were pretty good," he said. "There were never long stretches where we were out of it, and we kept going hard after the first goal."
For most of the match, Chivas showed they were not the same club as a year ago; at the beginning of the second half, they continually attacked the United penalty area.
"I'm happy with the team, that they fought from the beginning to the end," Palencia said. "We are fighters and that's what I like about Chivas USA. We want to be one of the most important teams in MLS and we are working at it."
Just one starter on Saturday -- goalkeeper Brad Guzan -- was a starter in the first-ever game for Chivas USA last year. Their latest acquisition, midfielder John O'Brien, was an unused substitute on Saturday in D.C.
"He's still working his way back into full fitness and it's a wet field, so it didn't feel like it made sense to use him," Bradley said. "We'll gauge where he is and hopefully we can keep moving along."
Jordan Brown is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
