Chivas Cannot Stop The Slide In Philadelphia

Chivas USA could not maintain a strong defense and fell to the Philadelphia Union 3-2 on Saturday. The result is the Goats’ third consecutive loss, and does not help their place in the playoff hunt, as they have now slipped to 13^th in the overall table. The trend of Chivas being unable to hang onto a lead has really become a problem, as they have done this and lost in four of their last six games. While the biggest target in the coming transfer window should be a forward or midfielder who can score consistently, Chivas need to go back to the drawing board and start focusing on their defense again, and work forward from there in the game plan.

The match overall was rather chippy for having five goals. Both teams wasted numerous chances in the first twenty-five minutes. The scoring opened in the 28^th minute when defender Michael Umaña scored on a corner kick that was headed twice by Chivas players in the box before Umaña headed it into the net. It was his first goal of the season. Then, about ten minutes later, play stopped when Chivas midfielder Paulo Nagamura stayed on the ground after an elbow to the head on a header in the middle of the field. As players argued about whether the stoppage was warranted, Chivas forward Justin Braun and Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon got into an altercation where Mondragon put his hands in Braun’s face and neck several times. Although the incident died out on its own, it seems it could have been a red card offense, as the example of Thierry Henry’s red card in Portland last week indicated, but the referee did not see the incident or overlooked it, and Mondragon was not punished.

Philadelphia tied the match in the 48^th minute when new signing Veljko Paunović scored his first MLS goal. The Union went ahead on a good goal from Carlos Ruiz in the 69^th minute, but Braun capitalized on a loose ball in the final third, beat Mondragon to it, and slotted it home eight minutes later. Chivas could not hold on for the draw, however, as Danny Mwanga scored a wonderful goal from well outside the box with two defenders around him in the 82^nd minute. Mwanga has a team-leading five goals, and it remains puzzling why he does not start more matches, but in this case, Coach Piotr Nowak’s strategy worked and the Union emerged victorious.

Chivas played hard in this match, but that is little consolation for another loss. Marcos Mondaini did not get on the scoresheet but he worked hard in this match and almost scored on a free kick just outside the box that went over the wall and hit the crossbar. Justin Braun scored his first goal since his hat trick against New York, so hopefully now he will start a goal-scoring streak. But defensively, Chivas cannot get their act together. The next test will come at home against Chicago, another struggling team that has been drawing a lot of matches this season. Chivas know they will have a good chance against the Fire, and will need to return to winning ways soon.

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