Tying Times for Chivas USA
In soccer, it’s often said that what separates the elite teams and players from the rest of the pack is the ability to finish scoring chances.
For Chivas USA, finishing consistently remains an issue, and the trend continued Sunday in a 1-1 tie against the New England Revolution in a Major League Soccer game at the Coliseum in front of a crowd that eventually swelled to 92,650 for the FC Barcelona-Chivas de Guadalajara nightcap.
With a chance to move into third place in the Western Conference, Chivas faltered on a number of good buildups throughout the game and it left Coach Bob Bradley frustrated.
“It’s a process to become a better team,” Bradley said. “We’re hard to beat now and generally our soccer’s pretty good, but now in these games, when you need to be able to raise the bar and play at a little higher level or need to execute a final play when it really counts, those are things that have not been consistent for us.”
What has been consistent for Chivas USA (6-6-9) lately is its ability to finish games with tie scores, which it has done for four consecutive MLS matches and in eight of its last 10. Chivas has won only once since June 18 but also has lost only once.
That has some Chivas players feeling a bit of pressure as chances for extra points in the standings continue to slip away. One of those players is midfielder Juan Pablo Garcia, who was asked what he thought about the missed opportunities.
“Frustrated, upset, since we need to win,” Garcia said. “We need the three points, and now we’re losing points that could help us get into the playoffs.”
Chivas is still there for now, holding the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference with a six-point cushion over the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.
Although Chivas played well early Sunday, it fell behind to New England (6-6-9), which has the same record as Chivas but holds second place in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of New York.
In the 16th minute, Pat Noonan got free on the right wing after taking a pass from Steve Ralston. Noonan came in alone on Chivas goalkeeper Preston Burpo, slotting a pass through the middle that U.S. national team forward Clint Dempsey fanned on, but Taylor Twellman, alone on the left, tapped into the open net for a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, Chivas answered with a world-class goal by Jesse Marsch. The play developed quickly when Marsch took a drop pass on the right from Sacha Kljesten. Marsch, about 25 yards from the goal, wasted no time and fired a low right-footed shot through traffic that found its way past diving goalkeeper Matt Reis into the opposite corner of the net.
“Blind squirrels get a nut every once in a while,” Marsch said.
Reis saved the Revolution in the 82nd minute when he got a fingertip on a shot by Chivas’ Ante Razov that was headed for the lower right corner.
Chivas lost midfielder Juan Francisco “Paco” Palencia in the 66th minute because of a pulled left hamstring.
