Chivas USA Notes (0-1 loss vs. Portland Timbers, Jeld Wen Field, Portland, OR, 8/24/11)

·       Portland, OR – Chivas USA closed its fifth-consecutive road game with a loss (0-1) again

st its MLS Western Conference rival, Portland Timbers. The match took place at the Jeld-Wen Field before 18,627 fans on Wednesday night, and now implies a new position for the home team in the Standings, which occupies 6th place.
·       Both squads created many goal opportunities in the first half of the match but only one team capitalized. The first goal of the game came at the 44th minute through a corner kick in favor of Timbers, Chabala cashed it and defender Eric Brunner jumped to meet the ball and softly deflected it with a header, enough to place it to the second post, far from Kennedy who could not do nothing to avoid for the ball to end in the back of his net. It was the third goal of the season for Brunner.  

·       The Red-and-White Head Coach Robin Fraser was forced to spend two substitutions because of injuries. Early in the game Mexican Mariano Trujillo entered the match due to defender’s Michael Lahoud ankle injury at the 11th minute, and Brazilian Paulo Nagamura suffered a foot injury and was substituted by midfielder Simon Elliot at the 38th minute. 

·       Goat’s GK Dan Kennedy kept Chivas USA in the game by pulling off several spectacular saves. Midfielder Simon Elliot made fans hold their breath with a free kick that Timber’s goal keeper Troy Perkins just tipped to deflect it just over his crossbar. Goat Laurent Courtois sent a heart-stopping strike that passed just on the side of Perkin’s post.

·       With the loss, the Red-and-White’s MLS record moves to 7-9-10 with 31 points in 26 games, and occupies the seventh place in the Western Conference. Chivas USA will now go back home to Carson, California to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday, August 27 at The Home Depot Center. The match will kick off at 7:30 pm (Pacific Time), and will be broadcast on TV through Fox Soccer Channel, and Radio on W Radio 690 AM. For information on the game, please visit cdchivasusa.com

THE WORD FROM THE TEAMS:
·      CHIVAS USA – Head Coach Robin Fraser

On Juan Pablo Angel not being in the 18-man roster: «We’re looking to manage him with what is long-term for us the next nine games. The ability to keep him off the pounding of the turf, we felt would be the best thing for him in the long haul.»

On the two substitutions made before halftime: «Absolutely injury-related. Michael Lahoud injured his ankle and Paulo Nagamura hurt his foot. Both guys were absolutely struggling so it was something we had to do. That’s three games in a row we’ve had to make early changes and tactically that alters your plan.»

On playoff atmosphere: «I think it felt like both teams knew they needed the points. Portland was on the front foot in the first half and got the goal they needed. I thought we played better in the second half and were able to drive them back a little bit but weren’t able to get the goal we needed.»

On atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field: «One of the best in the league.»
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·      CHIVAS USA – Forward Justin Braun

On second-half momentum: «We tried to be a little more aggressive. [In the first half] we came out flat and weren’t able to move the ball the way we wanted to. We just stepped the energy up in the second half and we were pushing for that goal. Unfortunately we didn’t get it. We’ve got to give credit to Portland for keeping the shutout, [and we] can’t dwell on it too much. We have to put it behind us and just go into Saturday and try to get three points.»

On loss: «It was probably one of the biggest games of the year. It was a six-point swing – if we had won that we would’ve been kind of clear of Portland so it’s definitely very disappointing.»

On atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field: «It was a great atmosphere. It’s always fun to play in stuff like this. It’s cool to see a city get behind their team so much. These are the kind of games that as a player you want to play in.»
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       PORTLAND TIMBERS – Head Coach John Spencer
On the overall result and its importance: «We had a couple of late scares there in the game, but I think we also had a couple of good chances where we might’ve finished the game off. They’re (Chivas USA) a very resilient group.»

On having Mike Chabala take corner kicks from the right side instead of Jack Jewsbury: «I watched their game and they gave up two goals on crosses against Colorado. I just felt that we had a slight advantage height-wise in the box and decided to have two in-swinging corners into the six to see how they dealt with it.»

On closing in on the final playoff spot: «I think that we’re formidable at home at times. We need to, now, after the last two performances, get on the road to D.C. and try and put in a good performance there so that we stay in this position. We’ve got as good a chance as anybody for the eighth, ninth, and 10th positions. I don’t think we’re hanging on for the 10th spot. We’ve got a couple of good games coming up here at home and if we perform the way we did in the first half tonight we’ll give teams a good run for their money.»

·         PORTLAND TIMBERS – Defender Eric Brunner

On his goal: «Everyone stepped up. David (Horst) had a couple chances tonight, Futty has made   some great headers in important games and fortunately I’ve been able to get my head on a few. It won’t happen unless there’s good service and we’ve had great service. It’s a whole team effort on that one.»

On the defensive effort: «I thought our shape was really good. I thought we worked for each other. We just need to stay turned on for those looping balls. I think (Justin) Braun had a few of those that we need to recognize. If we do that and know what they’re looking for at the end of the game, if we’re aware of that, that stuff helps you cement games out.»

Chivas USA (7-9-10) vs. Portland Timbers (9-12-5)

August 24th 2011- Jeld-Wen Field

Scoring Summary:

POR — Eric Brunner 3 (Mike Chabala 1) 44

Misconduct Summary:

CHV — Paulo Nagamura (caution; Foul) 31
CHV — Mariano Trujillo (caution; Foul) 43
POR — Diego Chara (caution; Foul) 47
CHV — Ante Jazic (caution; Foul) 86

Lineups

Portland Timbers — Troy Perkins; Mike Chabala, Eric Brunner, David Horst, Lovel Palmer; Sal Zizzo (Darlington Nagbe, 80), Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Kalif Alhassan (Rodney Wallace 84); Kenny Cooper (Eric Alexander 71), Jorge Perlaza
Substitutes Not Used — James Marcelin, Adin Brown, Bright Dike, Steve Purdy

Chivas USA — Dan Kennedy; Michael Lahoud (Mariano Trujillo 11), Heath Pearce, Michael Umana, Ante Jazic; Laurent Courtois, Paulo Nagamura (Simon Elliott 38), Ben Zemanski (Justin Braun 60), Nick LaBroccap; Marcos Mondaini, Alejandro Moreno

Substitutes Not Used — Blair Gavin, Zach Thornton, Jorge Flores, David Junior Lopes

Referee: Edvin Jurisevic

Attendance: 18627
cdchivasusa.com