Chivas USA Notes (1-0 victory vs. LA Galaxy, The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif., 5/19/2012)

 

·       Carson, Calif.  (Saturday, May 19, 2012) – Chivas USA (4-6-1) defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy (3-6-2), 1-0, in the first leg of the SuperClásico on a Jose Correa penalty kick in the 72nd minute before a sold-out Home Depot Center crowd of 18,800 Saturday night. The Red-and-White earned their first points at home and now have 13 points on the season.

 

·       The sequence which lead to Correa’s goal began with midfielder Oswaldo Minda floating a pass into the penalty area over the top, where Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Perk came out of his net to break up the pass. With an empty net, Correa took his shot just outside of the short area, where Galaxy defender David Junior Lopes, was given a direct red card for making a hand ball save in front of the net in the 70th minute. Two minutes later, Correa powered in his goal near the left post to give Chivas USA all the offense that would be needed for their first victory at home. The goal was Correa´s second on the season.

 

·       With newly-acquired forward Juan Agudelo and defender Danny Califf making their Chivas USA debut in the starting 11, the Rojiblancos dominated ball possession overall (52.5%). They also held the shot advantage, 8-7, in the first half while locked in a scoreless tie.

 

·       The goats nearly broke the ice in the first half when midfielder Miller Bolaños, on a breakaway, fired from outside the 18-yard box, only to hit the right post in the 34th minute.

·       The Rojiblancos look to win their fourth road match of the season when they travel to Red Bull Arena to face the New York Red Bulls, Wednesday, May 23, at 4:00 pm (PT). The match will broadcast on television, live on Univision Deportes Network in Spanish. For more information about the game and for tickets, please visit cdchivasusa.com or call 1-877-CHIVAS-1. Follow us on Twitter @cdchivasusa and Facebook.com/chivasusa

 

THE WORD FROM THE TEAMS:

 

CHIVAS USA HEAD COACH – ROBIN FRASER:

Thoughts on match: “I was really pleased with the way we started the game, I thought we came out very aggressively. We were able to make ourselves pretty dangerous, pretty early and for most of the time we were on the verge of being quite dangerous. When things didn’t go our way, we didn’t fold, we didn’t crumble, we didn’t back down, we just re-grouped and came again. It was a very satisfying with for the team in a number of ways. It was a very strong, and very committed and determined performance. I think our group was extremely solid, extremely committed to getting out of this thing with a shutout.”

Importance of winning in the SuperClasico: “It’s big. I think I underestimated the level of rivalry between these two teams when I first got here. I was surprised by the nature of comments after our first game last year and it was very evident that there was very little respect for this club. The only way to get respect is to go out and earn it, and I thought that they did a good job of that tonight.”

On Califf’s performance: “I’ve known Danny for a long time. I’ve seen him play in some big arenas and his decision making has gotten to be very good with the experience that he’s had. It was great to see him step in and look extremely comfortable as you’d like to see an experience center back come in.”

On Agudelo’s Debut: “I think Juan had a good debut. He’s a player who wants to be on the ball. He’s a very attack-minded player, he’s got very solid feet. You could see there were times when he wanted the ball, he wants to make things happen. I thought his impact was immediate and we’re extremely excited to have him.”

Thought’s on team’s defensive performance: “I thought it was very resolute. I thought they did a very good job of adapting as the night went on. I thought as a group, not just the defenders, but the entire team did a good job of reading things that were dangerous. I’m really proud of their defensive performance.”

On Correa’s performance: “For a kid who’s 19 years old, he’s not afraid of contact, he’s not afraid to go up against big, strong center backs and put his body in harm’s way. He’s energetic, he’s enthusiastic and just three weeks into his MLS career, he’s certainly showing well.”

CHIVAS USA FORWARD – JOSE CORREA

Thoughts on second game and second goal: “I feel great and very happy about starting in this league just how I wanted. As a forward to score goals is the most important thing and I hope to continue playing like this for the team and the organization.”

On the play before the penalty when you receive the ball: “I kicked the ball and struck it well. The Galaxy defender was standing right the goal line and he stopped it with his hand. The important thing I said is to score and to add points to the standings.”

CHIVAS FORWARD – JUAN AGUDELO

On first match with Chivas USA: “It was great especially to get a win against a team like the Galaxy.  I just loved being a part of it.  I just try to focus on the things that are on the field and what I do in the game. I was very grateful that I got the playing time that I got and got some chemistry with the players.”

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH – BRUCE ARENA

On what was the difference in the game: “I think the difference in the game is we did poorly with the chances we created. And in a game like that someone has to take advantage of it. Goal scoring opportunities, we had a couple of real good ones, certainly in the second half, and did poorly with them. The referee did an outstanding job, and I’m not sure I can ever say that in an MLS game but that was an appropriate penalty and send off.”

On the play of Sarvas and Juninho in central midfield: “I thought they did a good job tonight. They both had good games. It was a good game. It was a pretty even game for sure.”

On the attacking duo of Noonan and Donovan: “Pat did alright. Pat hasn’t played a whole lot for us but we thought he’d be a good combination with Landon. I don’t think that Landon was comfortable playing up top tonight, I don’t think he did well in terms of holding the ball in situations where needed it held. I thought he did better in the midfield in the second half. I thought Pat was solid. I thought Magee did alright. He got some pretty good chances, what more can you say. We have to stick one of those.”

On if this game was indicative of the season: “Yeah, I would say that. I think on the season our record is probably not real precise in terms of how we’ve played. I think we’ve played a little bit better than our record indicates. But tonight the difference in the game was taking a chance. We didn’t do it and give them credit. I think the referee did well on the call. I think perhaps he might have called a foul against our keeper on the play. When Perk went up their striker put his back into him a little bit, but fair enough.”

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER – LANDON DONOVAN

Overall thought on the loss: “It’s kind of been the same old story. First half was not great for either side. They had the one chance off the post, but not a lot of chances. I thought we played really well in the beginning of the second half, and had some chances to score and didn’t. And then one kind of weird play and that determined the game and that’s kind of how’s it’s been all year.”

On the fairness of the red card and penalty kick call: “From what I hear it was a hand ball. So if you put a hand ball off the line he has to give him a red card. It’s kind of harsh because it’s hard for David to react, it just kind of hits him, but that’s the way it goes and it’s unfortunate.”

On the play of Chivas USA: “They are kind of what we expected. Juan obviously gives them a different element and Danny, we know Danny well, he’s a good leader and does a good job back there. But, we had chances to score and unfortunately we keep giving up the first goal and it’s making it real tough. Can’t fault the effort, the effort was great just for whatever reason it’s not going our way and we have to keep going.”

LA GALAXY DEFENDER DAVID – JUNIOR LOPES

On what happened on the play that led to the penalty kick and red card: “What happened? Everyone saw it. There was a loose ball following a block, their forward shoots it and I was in front of the goal line and didn’t have time to react to get my hand out of the way. The ball went straight to my hand, it came at me very fast. That’s what happened. The fault was mine. It was my hand. I was the one who got a red card. I very sad about what happened.”

On if the infraction was fair: “It’s complicated. I don’t want to say yes or no, but it was a very fast ball and straight to my hand. I wasn’t trying to put my hand on the ball, it just went straight to my hand. It’s complicated. I would say yes, it’s fair, if I were going out of my way to stop the ball, but probably no when it just hits you in the hand, which is what happened, so it’s very complicated.”

LA GALAXY GOALKEEPER – BRIAN PERK

On the loss: “It’s tough. It hurts. Thought we played well, created a lot of chances, didn’t give up to many chances and one blunder by me cost us the game pretty much.”

On the penalty kick: “I went down the middle because I thought he saw me move the one before so I figured I would leave early and go down the middle. He took it well. He didn’t put it next to me.”

On what Chivas did well to get the win: “They kept the ball well and created a few chances and it’s just real unfortunate. I thought we deserved at least a point, probably three, so that’s hard right now.”

On the quick turnaround and playing San Jose on Wednesday: “That’s probably the beauty of it. We have another game on Wednesday and another chance to get three points so we can look forward to that and put this one behind us.”

 

 

Chivas USA (4-6-1) vs. LA Galaxy (3-6-2)

May 19, 2012 – Home Depot Center

 

Scoring Summary: CHV – Jose Correa 1 (Penalty) 72

Chivas USA — Dan Kennedy, James Riley, Danny Califf, Rauwshan McKenzie, Ante Jazic, Oswaldo Minda, Miller Bolanos (Jorge Villafana 60), Nick LaBrocca (Blair Gavin 90), Alejandro Moreno, Juan Agudelo (Juan Pablo Angel 76), Jose Correa

Subs not used: Tim Melia, John Valencia, Paolo Cardozo, Peter Vagenas

 

LA Galaxy – Brian Perk, Sean Franklin, David Junior Lopes, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Marcelo Sarvas, Juninho, Mike Magee (Chad Barrett 78), Kyle Nakazawa (David Beckham 74), Landon Donovan, Pat Noonan (Edson Buddle 60)

Subs not used: Bill Gaudette, Leonardo, Bryan Jordan, Michael Stephens

 

Misconduct Summary: CHV – Oswaldo Minda (yellow, foul) 36

LA – David Junior Lopes (red, hand ball) 70

LA – Landon Donovan (yellow, hand) 85

Referee: Mark Geiger Referee’s Assistants: Sean Hurd, Steven Taylor 4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal

Attendance: 18,800 Time of Game: 2:01 Weather: Clear, 66 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.