The road warriors at Chivas USA did it again.
Fueled by a first-half goal by Ecuadorian midfielder Oswaldo Minda as well as some late defensive heroics by goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and defender Heath Pearce, the Rojiblancos sealed a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC. The win was Chivas’ third straight victory on the road, equaling the club's entire win total on the road during the 2011 season.
“We’re grinding out results on the road,” Pearce told MLSsoccer.com after the match. “That’s three road games and three road wins for us. Obviously in all three of our wins, we haven’t put in a dominating performance yet, but we’re finding ways to get wins and that is what is important.”
Highlights: TOR 0, CHV 1
The Goats took the lead in the 31st minute when off their sixth corner kick of the match, Minda slipped past his marker and headed in his first career MLS goal.
While Chivas controlled the first half, the script was flipped in the second as they found themselves under a continuous onslaught by the home side.
But the Goats held strong behind another strong performance by Kennedy, who was forced into a number of spectacular saves including a late miraculous stop on a point-blank chance by TFC's Danny Koevermans. The Chivas 'keeper believes teams around the league will continue to find a hard time to score against the Rojiblancos.
“It’s an experienced group and I think you can see that in our play. There haven't been too many out-and-out mistakes,” Kennedy told MLSsoccer.com. “[Opponents] really have to create something special or serve in a ball from a wide position to get in behind us. As long as we’re that difficult to break down, then teams are going to have a hard time creating goal-scoring opportunities.”
The Goats will next look to extend their overall win streak to three games against the Philadelphia Union with their first home victory. For a Chivas USA side that has aspirations of becoming a bona fide contender for the playoffs and even MLS Cup, a win at home represents the next step for the rising club.
“It’s huge, it’s huge,” head coach Robin Fraser told MLSsoccer.com. “While we’ve done some good things the last couple of weeks, we definitely need to come home and put in another good performance at home in front our fans so that we can really assert ourselves wherever we play.”
