Chivas USA Notes (1-0 win vs. Real Salt Lake, Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah, 3/24/2012)

 

·         SANDY, Utah (Saturday, March 24, 2012) – Chivas USA defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0, for the first time ever at Rio Tinto Stadium this Saturday evening, before an attendance of 20,415. The Goats had not defeated RSL since May of 2009, and nearly three years to the date, Coach Fraser’s squad would fight till the end of this nail-biter, and secure the Red-and-White’s first 3 points of the 2012 MLS season. The lone goal would come in the 72nd minute of play, on a score from rookie Casey Townsend, his first ever for Chivas USA in MLS. With the victory Chivas USA’s record is now 1-2-0, with 3 points, placing them in 9th place of the Western Conference.

 

·         1-0 came in the 72nd minute when Chivas USA’s 2012 SuperDraft, 5th overall pick, Casey Townsend would score off a cross pass from defender Ante Jazic that RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando would fail to control in a battle with the rookie. Townsend would take clear advantage of the miscue by the GK, as he struck with his right foot and placed the ball in the back of the net.

 

·         It was clear from the beginning of the match that the Red-and-White’s intensity would be matched by RSL as they worked to create and take advantage of opportunities. RSL would not let up; the Royals led the match statistically on paper in just about every category, including 60% possession time over the Rojiblancos’ 40%. RSL had 13 attempts on goal over the Goats’ 6 and 14 fouls over 13 for the Red-and-White. 

 

·         Real Salt Lake had opportunities of their own that they did not take advantage of, the Goats’ defense inside their third was constantly on point, as they denied RSL all night.

  Dan Kennedy had a solid performance during tonight’s match. In the final 5 minutes of stoppage time, Kennedy leaped to his left to deflect a shot from forward Fabian Espindola and secure the 1 nil victory. Time and time again, RSL was relentless on the attack, looking to find the equalizer. Time and time again, they would run into an equally relentless defense and one Kennedy protecting the goal.

  Chivas USA now return to the Home Depot Center and face-off against Sporting Kansas City this Sunday, April 1, at 6:00 pm (PT). The match will broadcast on television, live on KDOC-TV in English, and KWHY Channel 22 in Spanish. For more information about the game and for tickets, please visit cdchivasusa.com or call 1-877-CHIVAS-1. Follows us on Twitter @cdchivasusa and Facebook.com/chivasusa

 

THE WORD FROM THE TEAMS:

 

CHIVAS USA HEAD COACH – ROBIN FRASER

On winning against his former team at Rio Tinto Stadium: “The place that the win took place is much less significant than the win. We started out the season playing pretty well and not having any results to show for it. Tonight we had to come to what is arguably the hardest place to play in the league and these guys just fought, gritted and gutted out a victory.”

On Chivas USA’s play on the evening: “I thought our defenders played extremely well. I thought our midfielders played responsible most of the night in making it difficult for them to get clear cut opportunities down the middle of the field. On top of that it was a great effort. Casey Townsend takes a lot of pressure off of us by winning these headers. At the end of the day I just can’t say enough about the team effort.”

On how his side kept RSL off the scoreboard: «At the end of the day, you’re trying to get pressure where you can. They’re very good with the ball, so you have to be smart where you pressure them. Obviously, they are a very good passing team, their movement on the field is very good and their confidence and competence is extremely high. I just think you have to be very aware of those things and then obviously play accordingly.»

On defender Rauwshan McKenzie’s performance: «It was a real good night for him. He made a lot of important plays at important times. I thought he had a really solid game.”

CHIVAS USA FORWARD – CASEY TOWNSEND

On how the win will help Chivas USA’s outlook for the season: “That is a really big win for us. We felt we were a little unfortunate not to get a result out of our first two games and we did what we needed to do. To come in here and get three points from a good team at their own stadium is big time for us.”

On scoring the game-winning goal: “It felt really good. Obviously the first goal always feels good and I had been waiting for that for a long time. I’m just glad that it helped us win.”

CHIVAS USA MIDFIELDER – NICK LABROCCA

On being able to shut down RSL’s offense: “You have to give a lot of credit to our defense. They were great today. Obviously Salt Lake is a great team. They have a great possession game and they are very dangerous with that possession. It wasn’t easy, but I thought that we were able to get the ball moving quite a bit.”

REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH – JASON KREIS:

On how the match played out: “I think in the end you look at it a little tactically and say that we wanted to press the game and they wanted to defend and counter-attack. Tonight the defensive-minded team won. That’s not going to change the way we think about the game or the way we play.”

On the disappointment of losing at home: “I think we had a great crowd tonight and I wanted to reward them and make it a special night. I was hoping to have the result go our way. Not talking about the result, though, I am pretty pleased with the performance again. We created a ton of chances. We had the majority of the possession. We were the more attacking-minded team. We were the more dangerous team. On a different night, we win that game by multiple goals.”

On the upcoming trio of games: “I think we’ve got some guys now that started in the first two games and have to feel good about their contribution and have a little bit of experience under their belts. That should put us in a good position for the next three matches.”

REAL SALT LAKE GOALKEEPER – NICK RIMANDO

On the result: “All in all the effort was there tonight and we were unlucky not to get some goals ourselves. I thought Dan Kennedy played great to keep the zero and that’s why we had this result today.”

On the play that resulted in the game’s lone goal: “You go for the ball if the cross is in your area, and if there’s contact, there’s contact. That’s the sport. There’s no excuse or anything like that. Unfortunately the ball came out of my hands and bounced right to [Casey Townsend].”

REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER – JAVIER MORALES

On RSL’s performance in defeat: «I think we have to relax a little bit. We were a little nervous playing the ball and I think we have to relax and take more time.»

On failing to capitalize on set pieces: «We couldn’t make them. We had a couple of chances but couldn’t score and that’s the reason we lost the game.»

REAL SALT LAKE FORWARD – ÁLVARO SABORÍO

On the result: «We have to stay positive and keep working. We played good today and just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.»

 

Chivas USA (1-2-0) vs. Real Salt Lake (2-1-0)

 

March 24, 2012 – Rio Tinto Stadium

Scoring Summary: CHV – Casey Townsend 1 (unassisted) 72

Real Salt Lake — Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave, Chris Schuler, Chris Wingert; Kyle Beckerman (c); Ned Grabavoy, Luis Gil (Jonny Steele 71), Sebastian Velasquez (Javier Morales 46); Paulo Junior (Alvaro Saborio 46), Fabian Espindola

Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Reynish (GK), Yordany Alvarez, Emiliano Bonfigli, Nat Borchers

 

Chivas USA — Dan Kennedy, James Riley, Rauwshan McKenzie, Heath Pearce, Ante Jazic, Ryan Smith (Scott Gordon 74), Oswaldo Minda, Nick LaBrocca, Peter Vagenas (Ben Zemanski 67), Laurent Courtois (Cesar Romero 81), Casey Townsend.

 

Substitutes Not Used: Tim Melia, Miller Bolanos, John Valencia, Alejandro Moreno.

 

Misconduct Summary: RSL – Chris Shuler (Foul) 12

CHV – Oswaldo Minda (Foul) 46

CHV – Peter Vagenas (Foul) 55

CHV – Casey Townsend (Foul) 86

CHV – Dan Kennedy (Time Wasting) 93

Referee: Mark Kadlecik Referee’s Assistants: Anthony Vasoli, James Conlee 4th Official: Michael Kennedy

Attendance: 20,415 Time of Game: 1:60 Weather: Partly Cloudy and 70 degrees

cdchivasusa.com

 

About Chivas USA

Founded in 2004, Los Angeles-based Club Deportivo Chivas USA has achieved remarkable success in seven full seasons in Major League Soccer. From 2006-2009, the Mexican-owned club qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in four consecutive seasons, to the delight of its passionate supporters. In addition, Chivas USA’s innovative grassroots programs demonstrate its deep commitment to the Southern California community, while the club’s youth teams and Soccer Academies offer unprecedented opportunities to the region’s best young talent. For more information on Chivas USA, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com.