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Without Backing Down

October 24, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


Chivas USA Head Coach Jose Luis said going into Wednesday's conference showdown at Real Salt Lake that the objective was to close out the season as decorously as possible, which the Red-and-White nearly managed to surpass at Rio Tinto Stadium for the exception of a three-minute span.

The Rojiblancos began generating promising looks and threatened to take the initial lead since the sixth minute of the match, managing to keep RSL's attack at bay while going into the half locked at zero. However, starting in the 49th minute, the home side went on a two-goal run when the Goats were whistled for a questionable hand ball in the box by Carlos Borja. Alvaro Saborio lined his shot inside the right post to open the score sheet, and Joao Plata doubled their lead with his strike in the 52nd minute.

Down by two, Real looked to his bench and brought on his three substitutions, which paid off immediately, as the young tandem of Carlo Chueca and Julio Morales linked up in the 77th minute to cut the deficit in half heading into the home stretch of the match. Matthew Fondy, who was among the three subs coming on, looked to get into the act and got off a strike from the arc that nearly skipped into the back of the net after being deflected. Yet, the Red-and-White's comeback efforts fell short, leaving Real and his squad pointless in their road finale.

"I think it was a close game," said Real. "It seems to me that the difference, in my opinion, was the penalty. We all know Salt Lake is a great team that has very good players, is among the top in the standings, and the game was as we expected.

"The substitutions helped a lot to help the team respond because after the second goal by Salt Lake there were minutes where it looked like they were going to get more. But with the changes it was the total opposite. Fortunately it went well for us in that regard."

Despite not having goalkeeper and captain Dan Kennedy in the match due to an abdominal strain injury, back-up goalkeeper Tim Melia did a solid job filling in for the former All-Star as he kept RSL out of goal on a number of set pieces.

Nevertheless, with Kennedy not on the road with the club and facing one of the finalists for the coveted Supporters' Shield, the Rojiblancos played the Western Conference's now first-place team tight and had opportunities to equalize late.

"We went into the match respecting the opponent while always competing on every play, had very good possession against a tough rival and the team never quit, never let their guard down, never stopped fighting.

"The most important merit yesterday for Chivas USA was to realize that we were up against a great opponent and not back down. It was motivating to have an opponent of their level and the players showed a very good attitude and response during the entire match," Real concluded.

The Goats will now have a short turnaround time as they prepare to close out their 2013 campaign on Saturday when they host conference rival the Portland Timbers.

Bocanegra committed to get a victory

After a complicated match at Rio Tinto Stadium against Real Salt Lake, Chivas USA felt 2-1 on Wednesday night. The local team opened the scoreboard after a penalty kick by Alvaro Saborio, and managed to extend the lead by two with a goal from Joao Plata. The Red and White were able to recover after Julio Morales' goal, but it wasn't enough to catch up the local team.

The game had most of it's action taking place in the middle of the field with breakaways from both sides. The team led by Jose Luis Real showed a better and more solid style of play during the game, but for the veteran player of Chivas USA, Carlos Bocanegra, the result is disappointing.

"It's a little disappointing obviously," said Bocanegra. "The level of play was a lot higher and there was a huge improvement from last week. We had a good first half, a lot of moving around, and few chances. And in the second half, they got over a couple of breakaways, and the penalty kick change the game a little bit."

Despite the fact that Chivas USA did not classified to the Playoffs they still have a game left this week against the Portland Timbers. Bocanegra acknowledges that without having something to dispute, a victory is what Chivas USA always have in mind.

"It could have been easy just to play it because we have nothing to play at the moment and it's an away game against a good team, but we spoke about it before, we just wanted to get out there and enjoy it," said Bocanegra.

Now, Chivas USA will return home to have a short turnaround before facing conference foe the Portland Timbers in their season finale on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the StubHub Center. The game, which will broadcast in English on KDOC-TV and in Spanish on MundoFox 22, will also air on W Radio 690 AM. The Goats know that they have the opportunity to finish the season with a victory and the opportunity to affect the standings with the result.

"We want to compete and go out there and try to win. We want to beat Portland and move around the table a little bit, that will be fun," Bocanegra concluded.

Melia focused on result rather than own performance

Just like last season, goalkeeper Tim Melia has once again been given the responsibility to be the man between the posts for Chivas USA for perhaps the last few games of the season. Six months ago, Melia wouldn't have thought he'd be the starting keeper in Major League Soccer as he was experiencing extreme lower back pain and later underwent back surgery. It wouldn't be until two months later that he would slowly make his return to Chivas USA training.

Although the New York native has been the starting goalkeeper for the Red-and-White in a few Reserve League games the past weeks, Wednesday night's match at Real Salt Lake was the first MLS game for Melia this season, replacing Dan Kennedy who's nursing a lower abdominal strain injury.

"I felt pretty good," Melia said after the game on Wednesday night. "I'm still getting back from surgery so I'm still getting back to everything. Overall, there are things I have to clean up, but I'm more worried about the result than my overall performance."

Despite a stellar performance by Melia, the Goats fell 2-1 in their final road game of the season. The Goats struggled to get at the rival's goal in the first half, and included several stunner saves on behalf of Melia. Once the Red-and-White were able to score their first goal, the team took control of the game, having several other chances, but they were not enough to equalize the match.

"I think they [RSL] had longer stretches of possession than we did, but I thought in the beginning we played our game plan. If we had taken our chances a little better in the beginning of the game, we could've gotten out of here with a tie," Melia added.

Chivas USA will return to Los Angeles on Thursday morning, and upon their arrival, will hold a regenerative session that will serve as preparation ahead of their last game of the season, match scheduled for this Saturday, Oct. 26 against the Portland Timbers at the StubHub Center. This match will be televised live on KDOC-TV and Mundo Fox-22, and the color commentary can be heard on W Radio 690 AM. For all the latest news and updates on the club, follow us on Twitter: @cdchivasusa

Chivas USA get back to work in Los Angeles

Chivas USA returned to Los Angeles on Thursday morning after complying with their last road game of the season at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night. Although the Goats were unable to come out with three points, the team gave a great performance on the field, something that the group will look to build on ahead of their last game of the season set for this Saturday against the Portland Timbers at the StubHub Center.

Less than an hour upon their arrival in Los Angeles, Chivas USA went straight to the StubHub Center where the team held a regenerative training session in the facilities' gym. Starting off with a series of stretching exercises, a few of the players then headed to work on the stationary bicycles for about 20 minutes.

Under the supervision of Strength and Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho, the rest of the team worked on recovering their muscles through strength exercises. While the travelling team worked in the StubHub Center's gym, players recovering from injuries trained at Field 6 working directly with Athletic Trainer Sean Kupiec.

Chivas USA will return to the StubHub Center on Friday morning for their final training session of the week ahead of their final game of the season. Saturday's match will be broadcast live on KDOC-TV and Mundo Fox-22, as it can also be heard on W Radio 690 AM. For all the latest news and updates on the club, follow us on Twitter: @cdchivasusa .

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