Chivas USA continued their impressive away form on Saturday afternoon when they ran out 1-0 winners over the still winless Toronto FC side. The Goats had travelled to Canada with all their points (and goals) this season coming on the road and hoped to make it 3 away victories in a row. It was another Chivas game with only one goal in it and it was Oswaldo Minda this time that provided the goal when he headed it home in the 31st minute. It was two very different stories for both teams, as Chivas USA secured another 3 points away from home and Toronto FC suffered their fifth defeat in five MLS games.
Chivas USA arrived in Toronto after beating Portland Timbers 2-1 the week before and another away fixture was something of a relief. With disappointment at the Home Depot Center this year, Robin Fraser’s side had showed against the Timbers and Real Salt Lake that they could handle the away day pressure and grind out results. Toronto FC, on the other hand, had not picked up any points at all this season and their desire to end this poor run showed, but went unrewarded.
With Juan Pablo Angel still missing, Fraser continued to give the other strikers on the roster an audition with Miller Bolaños leading the line in place of Cesar Romero. It wasn’t a surprise that he also brought Ryan Smith back into the starting 11 after his terrific performance in Oregon last weekend. Despite missing two of their star players (Frings and De Guzman), Toronto manager Aron Winter still opted for an attacking line up knowing Chivas USA weren’t renowned for their attacking qualities.
The game started well, and both teams created some good attacking sequences within the first 15 minutes but they were all still settling into the game. TFC went closest with only 9 minutes on the clock when Joao Plata put his shot wide of goal. It was again Toronto who had the better of the chances, and in the 17th minute Dan Kennedy saved well after a slick attacking move put Luis Silva through on goal.
Chivas USA started with their usual defensive formation and this was effective in eventually gaining control of the game. Ryan Smith, the assist hero last week, looked lively and was the main attacking threat for The Goats. Chivas’ attacks were still of the same frustrating nature though as some great moves dissolved and ended without a shot on goal. However, their defending was solid as per usual and an uncharacteristic long range shot from Smith tested the Toronto keeper. Despite both teams matching each other it was The Goats who took the lead in the 31st minute from an unlikely source.
Ecuadorian midfielder Oswaldo Minda, who was fantastic throughout, rose above the TFC defense and powered a header down and into the back of the net. The goal was similar to the two scored against Portland but it was Bolaños who was credited with the assist on his first start for Chivas USA. TFC continued to threaten and although they hit the corner of the goal, the 1st half ended 1-0.
Against the Timbers, Chivas USA rallied from a goal down to produce a stirring second half performance to win the game. The second half in this game though was more similar to nerve wracking Real Salt Lake game. Toronto realized that, at 1-0 down, another defeat was on the horizon and not surprisingly came out in the second half with a lot more desire. They started brightly and after only 2mins forced the recovering Bolaños to clear the ball off the line. Pearce took note of this and had to do the same with only 10mins remaining.
Chivas USA’s forays forward became few and far between but they coped well with Toronto’s attacks with McKenzie, Pearce and Minda all excelling. Once again, The Rojiblancos failed to play a match where Dan Kennedy didn’t grab the headlines in the 2nd half. A string of outstanding saves kept his side in the game and as the final whistle went he was swarmed by his colleagues for his efforts.
The stats of this game make familiar reading. Chivas USA won in the possession stakes overall but did so without putting their opponents under too much pressure. As Toronto desperately tried to rescue a point from the game The Goats again got men behind the ball and held out for the victory. After the game, Robin Fraser and some of the players quite rightly noted that they still are not playing as well as they should be. However, what was extremely pleasing was the 9 points they have from 3 away games putting them fifth in the Western conference. All they need to do now is adopt this approach to games at the Home Depot Center.
Chivas USA’s next game is back at home against Philadelphia Union on 4/21.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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