Chivas USA fell victim to a pair of late goals on Wednesday evening, dropping a 2-0 decision to Chivas de Guadalajara in the first-ever ChivaClásico at the Rose Bowl. Omar Arellano was the hero for the visiting Mexicans, finding the back of the net twice in five minutes to secure the win for Guadalajara.
The Red-and-White got a number of solid performances, but were ultimately unable to capitalize on its chances. New goalkeeper Jon Conway notched his first start in a Chivas USA jersey, while Claudio Suárez put in a strong 90 minutes in central defense against his old club. Sacha Kljestan continued his recent run of good form, proving to be a potent offensive weapon in the first half.
While Wednesday night's match had been billed as a friendly, it was apparent from the opening whistle that neither team was planning on taking it easy. Buoyed by a jubilant Rose Bowl crowd, both Chivas USA and Chivas de Guadalajara pushed hard to assert their dominance in the game's opening minutes
Chivas USA got the first good look at the net in the fourth minute when Kljestan chipped a ball over the Guadalajara defense and into the path of Jesús Padilla on the right side of the area. The ex-Guadalajara man skirted around his defender but some fancy footwork from goalkeeper Luis Michel stole possession from Padilla.
The game continued at a quick pace as the clock passed the quarter-hour mark. The Rose Bowl surface kept the ball moving quickly, and both teams were able to put together a few decent runs of possession. Chivas USA was getting good distribution from Kljestan on the left wing, while it was Amaury Ponce on Guadalajara's right flank who sparked much of the Mexican side's attack.
Chivas USA nearly broke the deadlock in the 34th minute. Padilla sent a quick ball into Maicon Santos just inside the penalty area. Santos one-touched the pass through his legs with a clever backheel and right onto the feet of Marcelo Saragosa. Saragosa turned to shoot, but his effort was poked away at the last moment by Guadalajara central defender Hector Reynoso.
Chivas de Guadalajara pressed into Chivas USA's end in the final minutes of the half, relying on the continuing quality play of Ponce. The winger sent a few dangerous crosses into the Red-and-White area, but each was deflected away by plucky defending from Shavar Thomas and Suárez in the center of defense. The first half came to a close with the score locked at 0-0.
Both sides made wholesale changes in the second half, taking advantage of the chance to give some younger faces a few game minutes. Guadalajara's most notable entrant was Mexican national team defender Jonny Magallon, who has played with "El Tri" throughout their recent qualifying run for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
At the other end of the pitch, Chivas USA youth academy product Cesar Zamora replaced Saragosa to make just his second appearance for the squad since joining the first team on May 28 of this year. Zamora is not unfamiliar with Mexican opposition; his only other minutes for the Red-and-White came against Primera División side San Luis in SuperLiga in June.
The speed of the game increased with the addition of so many fresh legs, but both sides struggled to settle into a solid rhythm in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Each team held the ball well in the midfield but was unable to find a good outlet in the final third to make any real attempt on goal.
Chivas de Guadalajara finally broke the deadlock in the 74th minute. Subsitute Arellano was the architect, touching a nice first-time ball into the far left corner of the penalty box for Sergio Avila. Avila crossed the ball back in front of the goalmouth for Arellano, who tucked the ball inside the near post to take his side ahead 1-0 and ignite a flurry of fireworks and flares from the Guadalajara faithful.
Arellano struck again just five minutes later, this time getting onto the end of an Omar Esparza through ball on the left wing and hitting a line drive past Conway inside the far post to double Guadalajara's lead.
Chivas USA pushed back in the game's closing minutes but was unable to find a way through a Guadalajara defense that was soundly anchored by central defenders Hector Reynoso and Omar Esparza. The Red-and-White will now turn their attention back to MLS play, where they meet the New York Red Bulls at The Home Depot Center on Saturday.
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
