14,000 brave roads to see Chivas, New York in 0-0 tie

“Carmageddon” did nothing to stop Chivas USA fans from descending on Carson on Saturday night.

By the time the teams hit the field at 7:30 p.m., most of the hysterical buildup had given way to the reality of mostly empty roads. Add free vuvuzelas and a special early entrance time to Chivas Town, and a sizeable crowd of around 14,000 showed up at the Home Depot Center eager to see the east’s top team.

So it was too bad the game provided so little excitement.

Though both teams got their chances, Chivas and the New York Red Bulls mustered a 0-0 tie and only four total shots on goal, failing to reward fans who traveled against all recommendations.

The tie was the Chivas’ (5-7-8) third this month, while the Red Bulls (6-4-11) bounced back slightly from a shutout loss last weekend.

“I thought for most of the first half we didn’t play with any confidence,” Chivas Coach Robin Fraser said. “Overall for us we weren’t as sharp in the final third as we wanted to be.”

The Red Bulls’ Thierry Henry provided some excitement in the 70th minute with an 18-yard rocket sent straight at Chivas keeper Dan Kennedy. Then 13 minutes later, Red Bull Teemu Tainio settled a ball in the left side of the box and sent a left-footed shot just wide left.

Before that, the teams entered the locker room with only one shot on goal between them.

Chivas’ best scoring chance of the evening came in the 37th minute on a counterattack when forward Justin Braun made a run up the middle of the field. Braun dropped a pass to midfielder Jorge Flores, who was streaking in front of his defender. When Flores wound up for a shot, he was just outside the box, but the strike sailed high off the crossbar and Flores fell to the grass is dismay.

Chivas midfielder Nick LaBrocca had a relatively quiet game and had his three-game scoring streak snapped in the tie. LaBrocca misfired wide left on his only real chance of the game — a post-up shot from 18 yards out in the 72nd minute.

Fraser said that signing a striker is “eminent” now that the international transfer window is open. The Chivas will play at home again next Saturday against the Houston Dynamo before they begin a five-game road trip after the all-star break.

matthew.stevens@latimes.com

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