It’s strange, but Chivas gets point
On a night of odd goals, no one could score one that really mattered.
As a result, Chivas USA and the New York Red Bulls ended up sharing the points Saturday night, but their 1-1 tie at the Home Depot Center was hardly likely to be one of Major League Soccer’s weekend highlights.
It was a disjointed game, made even more so by the 52 fouls -- 31 by the Red Bulls -- and the six yellow cards shown by referee Maurice Navarro.
The New York starting lineup -- minus injured star Juan Pablo Angel -- featured only two players considered genuine offensive threats: wingers Dane Richards, because of his speed, and Dutchman Dave van den Burgh, because of his experience and guile.
It was Richards who threw the first scare into Chivas, getting around the back of the defense on the right wing and sending a hard cross into the goal area that Chivas defender Jim Curtain did well to poke away for a corner kick while under pressure from forward John Wolyniec.
Richards had provided the pass that led to Angel’s winning goal when the teams met earlier this month in New Jersey and the Red Bulls won, 1-0.
Having survived that moment, Chivas gave up a strange goal in the 26th minute on a free kick by Van den Burgh.
Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan came out to get the shot, hesitated and then backpedaled when he saw a couple of field players going for the ball. But everyone missed it and Van den Burgh’s curling free kick floated in at the far post.
Upset at the soft goal, Chivas USA’s players set about correcting matters and soon created two excellent chances.
First, Jonathan Bornstein chipped the ball toward an open net vacated by New York goalkeeper Jon Conway, only for defender Hunter Freeman to race back and clear the ball before it crossed the line.
Then, in a mad scramble in front of the New York net the ball came to Claudio Suarez and the Mexican veteran, momentarily ignoring his 39 years, executed a perfect bicycle kick that would have resulted in a memorable goal had defender Andrew Boyens not been standing in the way of the shot.
The ball struck Boyens on the chest and upper arm, but since he had made no move to play it with his hand, no penalty kick was given despite the Chivas players’ halfhearted appeals.
When Chivas USA eventually did break through, in injury time at the end of the half, it was another unusual goal.
New York defender Kevin Goldthwaite sent a pass to where he thought teammate Jeff Parke was, but Parke had moved up the field and the ball rolled into no man’s land. Ante Razov pounced on the chance, chased the ball down and fired a shot beneath advancing goalkeeper Conway for his second goal of the season and the 111th of his MLS career.
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