Chivas USA hosted the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night, and the two teams played to a 0-0 draw. Most people who watched the game, whether neutrals or fans of either team, were likely bored, as long stretches of the game were quite dull. There was little attacking play to excite viewers, but the silver lining is that both sides will be happy with a clean sheet. The Red Bulls inserted their new goalkeeper signing, Frank Rost, straight into the starting lineup, and it was a dream start to his career in MLS as he took care of the very few chances he faced. For Chivas, they faced a siege mentality again after unsuccessfully holding on last week against Sporting Kansas City, but this time they held on for the full ninety minutes. In particular, Dan Kennedy came up big again and backed up an often-shaky backline, and really deserved the shutout.
While both defenses played pretty well, the attacks for both sides were the opposite. Players on both teams looked disinterested, complained and threw their hands up in the air frequently, and it was rather surprising to see as a Chivas fan. Frustration is certainly a fact of soccer, and players have the right to show their frustration, but I was a little dismayed to see their attitudes. Hopefully it was a one-off, and it maybe wasn’t their night, but I hope a bad attitude does not become a mainstay of this squad.
Chivas only had a couple of chances in the game, and their attack on the whole was weak on the night. Jorge Flores had a breakaway chance towards the end of the first half, but his shot went off the post and Flores, and the fans, really rued the missed chance. Nick LaBrocca had a quiet night by his recent standards, and he had two shots in the second half that were carbon copies when he turned and tried to hit a curling shot in the upper corner, but both shots were off the mark and did not trouble Rost. Perhaps the best chance for actually getting a ball in the net came in 2nd half stoppage time, as a corner kick bounced off Red Bulls defender Carlos Mendes but Rost was in position to save the deflection. Initially, the referee called a penalty on the play as he believed Mendes’ deflection came off a deliberate handball in the box, but after conferring with the assistant, he reversed the call. The replays showed that the ball went off Mendes’ arms, but it did not look intentional, so a first penalty for the Goats this season would have been exciting but probably unfair, to be honest.
After the game, Coach Robin Fraser was asked if Chivas needed a new striker now that the transfer window is open, and Fraser admitted they did and that they were hoping to add somebody soon. This is undoubtedly music to fans’ ears, who have known all season that the current forwards are not scaring anybody. My main hope is that the Chivas front office really does a good job scouting and gets a player (or more, whatever they can afford) who can help the Goats immediately and push for the playoffs.
Looking to the next challenge, Chivas will face the Houston Dynamo at home next weekend. Houston beat Chivas in June 2-1, and Chivas really went into a funk after that loss. Hopefully they will be working on their set piece defense and focusing on both sides of the ball in order to continue their 4-game unbeaten streak.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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