CHIVAS USA vs. REAL SALT LAKE
THE HOME DEPOT CENTER, Carson, Calif.
June 14, 2008 | 7:30 p.m. PT (FSN-PT; KSL-NBC)
WEEK # 12 | GAME # 83
Real Salt Lake make their second trip over the Rocky Mountains to visit Chivas USA with both teams determined to regain winning ways. For Chivas USA, they saw their three-game winning streak come to an end against New York last Thursday evening. Real Salt Lake is looking for a win, period, away from their Rice-Eccles Stadium home. They have lost all five of their road matches this season, starting with a 3-1 loss to Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center on April 5.
REFEREE: Abbey Okulaja. SAR (bench): Emiliano Monje; JAR (opposite): Peter Balciunas; 4th: Baldomero Toledo MLS Career: 77 games; FC/gm: 29.2; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 11; pens: 21
INJURY REPORT: CHIVAS USA - OUT: FW Alecko Eskandarian (L groin strain); FW Maykel Galindo (R groin strain); DF Alex Zotinca (R knee ACL surgery) ... REAL SALT LAKE - OUT: FW Yura Movsisyan (R meniscus surgery), MF Nathan Sturgis (L hamstring strain); DOUBTFUL: FW Fabian Espíndola (L knee contusion); QUESTIONABLE: FW Kenny Deuchar (R foot contusion); PROBABLE: MF Dema Kovalenko (illness)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: CHV: Sacha Kljestan (USA; v Barbados, June 15) ... RSL: Andy Williams (Jamaica; v Bahamas, June 15)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CHV: Atiba Harris, Jesse Marsch
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHV: Maykel Galindo; Shavar Thomas ... RSL: Dema Kovalenko, Jamison Olave
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (12 meetings): Chivas USA 7 wins, 25 goals ... Real Salt Lake 2 wins, 12 goals ... Ties 3
AT CHIVAS USA (7 meetings): Chivas USA 6 wins, 18 goals ... Real Salt Lake 0 wins, 3 goals ... Ties 1
• This is the second of three meetings between the teams this season, the second of two at The Home Depot Center. The lone meeting this year at Rice-Eccles Stadium is set for Sept. 20.
• Chivas USA won all three meetings between the teams in the expansion class of 2005 last year, winning the two encounters on Victoria Street and the lone game at the Wasatch Front.
• Chivas USA is still unbeaten all-time against RSL at home, with six wins and a draw in seven meetings in Carson.
•Chivas USA has not lost in the last eight meetings between the teams, over the past two-plus seasons. The Red-and-White won five of those games, with three draws. The last Real Salt Lake victory in the series came Aug. 6, 2005, their last meeting in their inaugural season. The teams split their four games that year.
• Coaches record: Preki v RSL: P4 W4 L0 D0 ... Jason Kreis vs. CHV: P3 W0 L3 D0
LAST MEETING (MLS):
4/5: CHV 3, RSL 1 (Kljestan 32; Harris 55; Eskandarian 93+ - Deuchar 57)
• Chivas USA won for the first time on the campaign in their first meeting, a 3-1 victory against Real Salt Lake on April 5 on Victoria Street.
• Chivas took a 32nd-minute lead when Sacha Kljestan opened his 2008 account. Maykel Galindo collected the ball in midfield and raced forward, sliding a through ball for Kljestan on the right and ran onto it and slotted the ball into the back of the net.
• After the break, it was one of the RSL old boys who doubled the lead for the Red-and-White. Kljestan took a pass on the right side of the area centered it to Harris, who knocked the ball past Nick Rimando from close range (55). But two minutes later RSL got back to within one, Kenny Deuchar scoring his first MLS goal, heading home a freekick swung in by Javier Morales from the left.
• It was the other former RSL striker now with Chivas, Alecko Eskandarian, who put the crowning touch on the win. He raced in alone on Rimando and rounded the 'keeper, carrying the ball almost to the goal line before gleefully thumping it home.
• Here's Preki's team (4-4-2): Brad Guzan - Chris Pozniak (Eric Ebert 80), Jim Curtin, Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein - Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza - Maykel Galindo (Alecko Eskandarian 77), Atiba Harris (Raphael Wicky 69). Substitutes Not Used: Justin Braun, Bobby Burling, Lance Parker, Keith Savage
• Here's Kreis's team (4-3-1-2): Nick Rimando - Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Matias Mantilla, Ian Joy (Fabian Espindola 73) - Kyle Beckerman, Carey Talley (Andy Williams 64), Dema Kovalenko - Javier Morales - Kenny Deuchar, Robbie Findley (Yura Movsisyan 60). Substitutes Not Used: Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave, Chris Seitz, Nathan Sturgis
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA saw their three-match winning streak come to an end, falling 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday evening at Giants Stadium. Chivas now have 14 points from 11 matches, sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference, a point behind the Colorado Rapids and three out of the first-place tie between LA and Houston.
LAST MATCH
• The big prematch buzz concerned the transfer of striker Jozy Altidore to Villarreal CF of Spain's La Liga. The Red Bulls were coming off back-to-back losses, to Chicago and Houston, while Chivas USA had put together three wins in a row after a five-game winless run.
• Both teams had really canceled each other out until the 75th minute. Dane Richards, whose pace down the right flank was one of the Red Bulls' lone effective threats going forward, found space on the right side of the box and sent an effective cross just inside the penalty spot and Juan Pablo Angel was unmarked as he headed home his second goal on the season.
• Remarkably, with the team's injury crisis all season, Preki maintained the same starting group for the third consecutive match.
• Here's Preki's team (4-4-1-1): Brad Guzan - Carey Talley, Bobby Burling, Jim Curtin, Francisco Mendoza - Atiba Harris, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Jorge Flores (Ante Razov 59) - Sacha Kljestan - Justin Braun (Anthony Hamilton 66). Substitutes Not Used: Jonathan Bornstein, Eric Ebert, Dan Kennedy, Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas
• "We had six, seven, great chances in the second half that we don't connect on and the final pass isn't good enough or the shot goes straight to the goalkeeper. We didn't manage to break them down. They had one play in the second half and that's it," Preki said. "We were solid defensively. We didn't give too many things away. That's how it goes."
TEAM NEWS
• With an unchanged team for a third week, featuring Sacha Kljestan in an underneath forward role, Chivas owned the early possession and Kljestan came close to putting the Red-and-White in the lead in the first half.
• "I think we needed to put one away early," said Kljestan. "In the first half I was finding spots," said Kljestan. "In the second half they played me tighter. It was tough. It was a back-and-forth game with a lot of running, so we might have died down a little in the second half."
• Goalkeeper Brad Guzan had no chance on the goal. Guzan was playing his second game in just more than a day on two separate continents, after going 45 minutes for the U.S. national team against Spain on Wednesday afternoon.
• "I felt all right, no different than normal," said Guzan. "Once you get out there, the adrenaline kicks in and you just want to help the team. Unfortunately, we came up a little short."
• After scoring seven goals in their previous three matches, Chivas weren't able to continue their three-game winning run which pulled them back up to the top of the Western Conference, a turnaround which began with a late three-goal burst against D.C. United that they were trying to again emulate.
• "I think that was the mentality. We fought hard, put a lot into this game, and if we put a lot into games all season long, we'll get some results," Kljestan said. "Tonight, we left Juan Pablo Angel open on one play and he punishes us and that was something we said we couldn't do. It came back to bite us."
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake remained unbeaten at home on the season, playing to a scoreless draw with the Kansas City Wizards last Saturday evening at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Real remain in sixth place in the Western Conference with 12 points from 11 matches, one behind FC Dallas and two ahead of the San Jose Earthquakes.
LAST MATCH
• Real Salt Lake were at home for the second week in a row, after a 3-1 win against San Jose that kept them undefeated on the Wasatch Front. The Wizards were playing the last of their six consecutive matches on the road, with three losses and a draw in their last four outings.
• Real had the advantage in play, recording 19 shots in all and putting seven on target, but getting nothing past Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
• The Wizards nearly grabbed a vital early goal on the road, but Davy Arnaud saw his blast strike the underside of the crossbar and bound away to safety after just seven minutes.
• RSL head coach Jason Kreis made one change to the team that defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 the previous weekend. Robbie Findley came back into the starting team, in place of Fabian Espindola.
• Here's Kreis's team (4-3-1-2): Nick Rimando - Tony Beltran, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert - Andy Williams (Matias Cordoba 70), Dema Kovalenko, Kyle Beckerman - Javier Morales - Kenny Deuchar (Tino Nunez 76), Robbie Findley. Substitutes Not Used: Kenny Cutler, David Horst, Ian Joy, Alex Nimo, Chris Seitz
• "There are a lot of positive things to take out of that game. There was a lot of good soccer on our part; I really thought we were the aggressors the entire night," Kreis said. "The only thing you can shake your head about or scratch your head about is the final touch, because if that was there I think we would've had quite a few goals tonight."
TEAM NEWS
• RSL had 12 shots and seven shots on goal in the first half alone, but struggled to finish and create any truly stellar scoring chances in the final third.
• "From the 25th to 45th minute we were all over them and all we need is a goal and we don't get the goal. I know that the guys are a little frustrated, but it's hard to maintain that kind of tempo for the entire match," said Kreis. "But I really feel that when we've got a team back against the wall a little bit, we've got to figure out a way to put them down."
• While Real are still unbeaten on their home turf at Rice-Eccles Stadium, they've taken 12 of 18 points. Bigger problems have surfaced on the road, where they have lost all five road journeys and been outscored 12-3.
• "The effort and the way we played were good, and if we continue like that we will be all right. We just need to go get some wins. You know, we're going to get one of these on the road, so hopefully it's [this] week. Then we can come back [at home] and hopefully that makes up for this week," said Kyle Beckerman.
• In their two previous home draws, RSL had seen Chicago and Los Angeles come back from early deficits to nab a share of the points. Kansas City simply weathered the storm to escape Salt Lake City with a point.
• "I've stressed time and time again, we've been on top of teams and if we don't take our goals, then we make it difficult for ourselves," Kreis said. Said midfielder Dema Kovalenko said: "For us, every game is tough. We're not 10 points ahead of everybody. Every game is difficult. You can see in the (conference) how tight it is. Every week is important."
