Match Report: Chivas USA 0, FC Dallas 0
October 13th, 2007 . 6:58 am . By: Jamie FougerousseA lack of goals made this game about the smaller stories around the match. It was Toja wig night, Ante Razov injured his knee and may be out for the playoffs, and Captain Bobby Rhine was given a straight red for saying something to referee Brian Hall. The game was not dull, just a midfield contest with few clear chances for either team. Coach Preki only made one change to his team that defeated Real Salt Lake 3-2 last Saturday; he replaced defender Claudio Suarez with Jason Hernandez. Both Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov remained on the bench. Steve Morrow kept most of the Dallas team that earned three points at Columbus Saturday night on the field. In the back, Drew Moor slotted inside to replace Clarence Goodson due to his hamstring injury, and Bobby Rhine made his first start since August 19th at right back. Up front, Dominic Oduro made way for Kenny Cooper’s first start since suffering a broken leg on June 9th. Both teams entered the game with a secure playoff berth, but Chivas USA looked to pull even with DC United in the Supporters’ Shield race. Three points for Dallas would have kept them in the hunt to secure home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The early part of the game saw Chivas USA moving the ball around very quickly in the midfield. Referee Brian Hall called things very close early on as Dallas tried to pick up their tempo to match the team from Los Angeles. Dallas had their first foray into the attacking third in the 6th minute as former Burn defender Shavar Thomas bumped Kenny Cooper off a long ball near the edge of the Chivas penalty area to break up the attack. Going the other direction, Sacha Kljestan shook free of Aaron Pitchkolan in the Dallas penalty area, but his shot rolled right to Burse in the 10th minute. In the 17th minute, Denilson fed a ball through to Cooper on the left side. Cooper managed to get a cross in that was just ahead of Juan Toja’s run, and Chivas keeper Brad Guzan cut it off at the penalty spot. Just a minute later Bobby Rhine cut off a John Cunliffe cross from the right to Francisco Mendoza at the far post. Most of the game was played in the middle third of the field, but each team looked dangerous when they broke out and got forward. Dallas created a nice chance through some pretty combination play in the 25th minute as Arturo Alvarez beat two players with a nifty back-heel pass to Toja at midfield. Toja carried the ball to the edge of the penalty arc and then fed Denilson making a run on the left. Denilson chipped a cross to the far post, where Abe Thompson met it with his head. Jonathan Bornstein had tracked Thompson well and blocked the header. By the 30th minute, Dallas began to establish a bit of possession and was having some luck penetrating the Chivas defense. It was then that Bobby Rhine fed Adrian Serioux on the right side of midfield. Serioux pushed forward, played a give-and-go with Abe Thompson to get around Paulo Nagamura and Jason Hernandez, and fired with his left foot from about 25 yards out. The shot was low and to the right, but keeper Brad Guzan was able to deflect it out for a corner. On the corner, Denilson played it short to Bobby Rhine, who returned it to the Brazilian out right. Denilson lobbed a high ball into the penalty area, Toja headed it backwards and down, and Arturo Alvarez made a great connection with it, firing just wide of goal. While on the subject of Alvarez, his work to track back and defend in the 33rd, 35th, and 42nd minutes is worth mentioning, as is his new corn-row look that changed his appearance so drastically I thought Dallas had signed someone new when I saw him in pre-game warm-ups. Dallas had their best chance of the half in the 43rd minute. Juan Toja sent a long ball behind the Chivas defense for Abe Thompson. Thompson beat Jason Hernandez to the ball and squared up one-v-one with Guzan in the penalty box. As Hernandez hung all over Thompson, the sturdy forward from Maryland shot low, but Guzan got a foot to it and blocked it. In the second half, Dallas continued with the attacking pressure, but had trouble linking up with their forwards. Laurent Merlin got free on a counterattack in the 56th minute, but Drew Moor was able to close him down and block the shot at the edge of the Dallas penalty area. Just a minute later, Alex Zotinca swung in a cross from the right side that found Mendoza open on the edge of the six-yard box. Mendoza couldn’t connect on the header. In the 62nd minute, Mendoza got free up the left sideline and whipped a cross in. Ray Burse got to it first, but his punch fell right to an unmarked Sacha Kljestan at the top of the 18. Kljestan fired Chivas’ best chance well high and out. Going the other direction, a minute later, Denilson beat two defenders on the dribble at the left sideline and fed Kenny Cooper to the left of the goal with his back to it. Cooper held off Hernandez, spun outside, and fired just as Brad Guzan came off his line. Guzan blocked the shot with his foot. Preki then went for the throat by bringing on Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo in the 65th and 68th minutes. Both strikers were carrying injuries and the team has another game this Sunday, or they would have started in all likelihood. Dallas seemed to be paying more attention than usual to the team defensive responsibilities. Alvarez was tracking back again in the second half, and so was Denilson. This mindfulness certainly contributed to the FCD clean sheet, but it rendered Dallas a little toothless in the final third at times. In the 70th minute, Denilson hit a low free kick into the Chivas penalty area. Ante Razov got to it first and deflected it out for a corner, but the impact of the ball tweaked his knee noticeably. With no subs remaining, the Chivas forward was forced to stay in, but he was hobbling the rest of the match. Two minutes later, Abe Thompson got a ball to Kenny Cooper at the top of the Chivas 18. Cooper’s shot made Guzan spill the ball, but no Dallas players were around to pounce. In the 75th minute, Francisco Mendoza played a give-and-go Razov just outside the Dallas penalty area. Mendoza put the ball in the goal, but was flagged for offsides. I took a close look at this one and Mendoza looks quite onside to me when Razov plays the ball; Bobby Rhine was late stepping up and kept him on. Tough to say if Mendoza would have scored or not without the flag, however, as Wagenfuhr was in a position to step to him but chose not to after seeing the flag up. The high drama of the match began in the 79th minute as Adrian Serioux collided with a Chivas player in the Chivas half of the field. Both went down, but referee Brian Hall signaled advantage to Chivas and they attacked with numbers. The lame Razov gave the ball to Galindo, but the delay allowed Arturo Alvarez to track back and cut him off. Galindo went down, Hall called a foul, and Alvarez started yelling. Hall gave Alvarez a yellow for dissent, but just seconds later he showed Dallas captain Bobby Rhine a straight red for no apparent reason. Rhine eventually left the field, irate, and the official word is that the card was for “abusive language.” Substitute Dax McCarty dropped in at right back, and Dallas adjusted quickly. Just as stoppage time began, they managed to create an excellent chance as Serioux fed Alvarez deep down the right sideline with a long ball. Alvarez settled it, cut inside, beat Bornstein and Nagamura, then ripped an audacious shot high to the near post that beat Guzan but not the woodwork. The tie keeps Chivas USA within reach of the Supporters’ Shield and 4 points ahead of Houston atop the Western Conference entering the final two games of the season. By not getting three points, the Hoops lost their chance to catch Houston, but they have 3rd place in the West locked down. Chivas hosts Colorado Sunday afternoon on Telefutura, while Dallas host Kansas City next Saturday in their final regular-season game.
Chivas USA (15-6-7) vs. FC Dallas (13-11-5) Scoring Summary: Chivas USA Lineup:
Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, Jorge Flores, Orlando Perez, Claudio Suarez FC Dallas Lineup:
Substitutes Not Used: Ricardinho, Chris Gbandi, Andrew Daniels, Dario Sala, Anthony Wallace
Misconduct Summary: Referee: Brian Hall 4 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If our midfield (Toja, Serioux & Alvarez) controlled both sides of the ball like this we can beat anyone in the playoffs. This is what has been missing all year and they proved we can compete with the DC’s, Houston’s, NE’s and Chivas if they can put that kind of effort in every match. Dax may have a role here also once Steve sits Denilson down to try and win some hardware.
I have to disagree with you, Uwe. Chivas didn’t play their best team – they were resting a lot of guys. Any other team would have taken advantage of “Rebound Burse” and our make-shift defense.
I agree, the team plays much better without Denilson, but Morrow has to play him. Both his job and Hitch’s are on the line for another disastrous personnel decision. They have to make Denilson work, come hell or high water or they’ll both be on the next plane to Puerto Rico… coaching with Colin Clarke.
Yahoo Serioux was Tremendous Thursday. If he can continue to play that way when joined by a healthy and inform Pablo at holding midfield, then I think this team has a chance to make some noise in the playoffs, despite the porous back line. I don’t want to see Yahoo at central defender ever again. Another thing I don’t want to see next season (were stuck this season) is Drew Moor at right back. If we go out and get a right back and move Drew back into the center with Goodson, then I think we will be ok.
I don’t agree about Denilson. The contract is structured so that it is a one year deal if he doesn’t work out. If he doesn’t catch fire for the playoffs, Denilson is gone. One and done with no strings attached. In my opinion, this is the way to add a DP. If they work out, great. Take up the option and look forward to next year. If not, cut your ties and look for another DP. Either way, Ruiz and/or Denilson are gone after this year due to DP status.
Hitch and Morrow have done more good (Toja and Richetti) than bad (Denilson) this year so I doubt their jobs are on the line.