Chivas USA produces another stellar effort
Once again, Chivas USA’s back line kept an opponent’s strikers at bay.
And, once again, Chivas failed to score in the first half but earned a shutout victory, this time propelling the squad past two Western Conference rivals into second place in the standings.
Chivas (5-3-2) benefited from an own goal in the 49th minute Saturday and held on to beat the Colorado Rapids, 2-0, in a Major League Soccer game at the Home Depot Center.
“We came out in the second half and were ready to play,” said Preki, Chivas’ coach. “We were a little bit quicker, a little more determination, put a little more pressure on them and got a good bounce. Sometimes it’s a game of bounces.”
Chivas, which is one point ahead of third-place Houston and two ahead of Colorado, has three consecutive shutouts since a 1-1 tie against the Galaxy on May 20.
In Chivas’ last game, against the Chicago Fire on June 9, midfielder Paulo Nagamura scored in the 79th minute to give Chivas a 1-0 victory.
This time, Chivas took the lead when midfielder Sacha Kljestan’s cross went to the far side of the box, where the ball bounced into the net off Colorado midfielder Terry Cooke.
Chivas, which has won three in a row, found a familiar face for the insurance goal. Forward Maykel Galindo, who leads the team with six goals, added to Chivas’ lead in the 63rd minute.
Galindo took a beautiful up-field pass from midfielder Jesse Marsch and beat goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul to put Chivas up, 2-0.
That was more than enough for Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who made four saves.
“When you only have to face two or three shots a game, as a goalkeeper that makes your job a lot easier. So all the credit goes to the guys playing in front of me,” Guzan said.
Guzan stopped two shots by Herculez Gomez, one by Roberto Brown and a final attempt by Brandon Prideaux.
Chivas forward Ante Razov was off the mark on an open look in the 88th minute, but Guzan made a diving stop on Prideaux’s header moments later, and Chivas’ lead was safe.
Colorado was without midfielders Pablo Mastroeni, who is with the U.S. national team in the Gold Cup, and Kyle Beckerman, who earned a one-match suspension for an accumulation of caution points.
Chivas also was without one of its top players, defender Jonathan Bornstein, who is with the U.S. team.
Chivas’ last loss was a 2-1 defeat against D.C. United on May 6. The team travels to play Houston on Thursday.
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