CHIVAS USA vs LA GALAXY
STUBHUB CENTER, Carson, Calif.
April 6, 2014 (WEEK 5, MLS Game #43)
12 noon PT (UniMás; TWCSN-LA)
The first SuperClásico for 2014 will round out the weekend of rivalries in Major League Soccer as Chivas USA are the home team for their game against fellow StubHub Center denizens LA Galaxy on Sunday afternoon. Chivas return home looking for a first time against their in-stadium rivals in two years, coming off a late 1-1 draw at the New York Red Bulls last weekend. The Galaxy are playing just their third league game this year, their last match a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake in the back end of a home-and-home series to open the campaign.
REFEREE: Drew Fischer. AR1 (bench): Corey Rockwell; AR2 (opposite): Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho; 4th: Alejandro Mariscal
MLS Career: 25 games; FC/gm: 26.0; Y/gm: 2.9; R: 2; pens: 6
DISABLED LIST: none
SUSPENDED: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (28 meetings): Chivas USA 4 wins, 21 goals … Galaxy 18 wins, 48 goals … Ties 6
AS CHIVAS HOME GAME (13 meetings): Chivas USA 2 wins, 9 goals … Galaxy 8 wins, 17 goals … Ties 3
RETURN MATCHES: 6/8: LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA, 5 p.m. PT; 8/31: Chivas USA vs. LA Galaxy, 5 p.m. PT
LAST YEAR (MLS)
3/17: LA 1, CHV 1 (McBean 83 – Alvarez 89)
6/23: CHV 0, LA 1 (Zardes 44)
10/6: LA 5, CHV 0 (Keane 6, 90; Donovan 23, 41; Zardes 26)
- The Galaxy won the final two meetings between the teams a season ago, and now have a five-game undefeated streak alive against their in-house rivals (4-0-1).
- The Galaxy have won 10 of the last 12 league meetings, dating back to 2009. Chivas USA won 1-0 on May 19, 2012, their first victory against the Galaxy since Aug. 23, 2007, snapping an 11-game winless run in SuperClásicos.
- The 5-0 Galaxy win in the final meeting a year ago was the heaviest defeat for either team in the history of the series, and matched the highest goal output for a team in the series (4/26/2008, LA 5 – CHV 2)
- Coaches record: Wilmer Cabrera vs. LA: first game … Bruce Arena v CHV: P15 W10 L3 D2
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA completed their two-game road swing by grabbing a point, the New York Red Bulls coming back for a late 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon at Red Bull Arena. Chivas USA sit in fifth place in the Western Conference with 5 points from 4 games.
LAST MATCH
- Chivas USA took the lead in the first half. In the 24th minute, Red Bulls right back Richard Eckersley was whistled for a penalty kick by referee Juan Guzman after contact in the box with Chivas striker Tommy McNamara, and Erick Torres stepped up and sent his spot kick down the middle for the lead.
- But the Red Bulls found a remarkable equalizer five minutes into stoppage time. Substitute Eric Alexander whipped in a corner from the left that Peguy Luyindula tracked well before snapping it home from close range for the equalizer to send New York fans into a frenzy.
- Chivas USA head coach Wilmer Cabrera made two changes to the team that fell 3-1 to FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium. Carlos Alvarez and Agustin Pelletieri came into the midfield, replacing Oswaldo Minda and Luke Moore.
- CHIVAS USA (4-2-3-1): Dan Kennedy - Eric Avila, Eriq Zavaleta, Carlos Bocanegra, Tony Lochhead (Donny Toia 76) - Carlos Alvarez, Agustin Pelletieri - Mauro Rosales, Thomas McNamara (Marky Delgado 87), Leandro Barrera (Adolfo Bautista 67) - Erick Torres.
TEAM NEWS
- Chivas USA saw their winless run extended to three matches following the season-opening 3-1 home win vs. the Chicago Fire.
- “We’re getting some results,” Chivas head coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “They are proving themselves on the field that they can play and we can have a good, competitive team. … You want more. You know they can play better and give more on the field. That’s the key. Right now, we’re not comfortable and we’re not happy. In [the locker room] they are very sad and frustrated because they know it’s not a result we wanted. But it’s room to improve and continue working.”
- For a third consecutive match, Chivas saw a late goal turnaround a result. They conceded an 81st-minute equalizer vs. Vancouver, and the eventual game-winner by FC Dallas was scored in the 78th minute.
- “It obviously hurts, but if you said to me at the beginning of the game that we’d come to Red Bull Arena and play this way against this excellent team that last year was the Supporters’ Shield winner, I would say, ‘Yes, let’s do it.’ It is a good result overall. It hurts because we were ahead for 94 minutes, but the reality is, you have to play the whole game,” Cabrera said.
- Said goalkeeper Dan Kennedy: “Of course we’re disappointed with giving up a goal in the last minute of the game, the dying seconds, really. Realistically, in the big picture and over the course of the season, compared to our performance last week, we took some really big steps forward. That’s what we need to keep in mind as we continue to build this team.”
- Erick Torres has scored goals in each of the four Chivas USA games this season, and is tied for the MLS Golden Boot standings lead after converting a penalty kick against New York. Torres is tied for the Chivas USA club record with goals in 4 consecutive games, also achieved by Juan Pablo Angel (2011) and Ante Razov (2006, 2007).
- “We put in a really strong effort,” Torres said. “For them to score in the 95th minute, obviously you leave frustrated, angry and upset.”
- Torres was again run out as the lone striker, with Thomas McNamara playing an underneath role in a five-man midfield. McNamara won the penalty that led to the Torres opener.
- “He’s possessing the ball, playing well and creating options,” Cabrera said of McNamara. “He likes to get into the box. When he went into the box, he created the penalty kick. He’s learning well and learning how to play in the league. We’re happy about him.”
LA GALAXY
The LA Galaxy return to action after another weekend off, their last league match a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake in the back end of a home-and-home series at Rio Tinto Stadium on March 22. The Galaxy sit in a tie for eighth place in the Western Conference with 1 point from 2 games.
LAST MATCH
- Real Salt Lake took the lead in the 19th minute. From a quickly taken free kick, Joao Plata delivered a curling ball to the far side of the six-yard box that found Alvaro Saborio so wide open that he had ample time to set himself before stroking the ball past LA goalkeeper Brian Perk.
- But the Galaxy drew level in the 35th minute. Racing onto a ball knocked down the right touchline by Juninho, Robbie Keane cut inside of a backpedaling RSL defender at the edge of the area and fired a low strike inside the near post.
- Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena made four changes to the team that falling 1-0 to Real Salt Lake at StubHub Center. Brian Perk started between the posts in place of Jaime Penedo, Todd Dunivant came into the back four for Leonardo, Baggio Husidic entered the midfield for Marcelo Sarvas, and Robbie Keane started up top in favor of Samuel.
- LA GALAXY (4-3-1-2): Brian Perk - James Riley (Dan Gargan 33), Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza (Leonardo 72), Todd Dunivant - Stefan Ishizaki (Marcelo Sarvas 70), Juninho, Baggio Husidic - Landon Donovan - Rob Friend, Robbie Keane.
TEAM NEWS
- The SuperClásico will feature just the second opponent for the Galaxy in league play this season – they’ve played just two MLS games, both against Real Salt Lake.
- “I think it’s a fair result and a really good effort by our team given the circumstances – the injuries we had to deal with during the game, the field conditions were poor, the altitude. To get a point out of it is a good result,” said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena.
- Arena rolled out a different tactical scheme for the RSL match, with Landon Donovan playing an attacking midfield role behind the front two, and Juninho in a holding role.
- “[Stefan] Ishizaki and [Baggio] Husidic needed to play. We wanted to get them into the midfield and to design a midfield where we could take advantage of those two players with Juninho and [Landon] Donovan,” Arena said. “That’s why we went the way we did today and I think the guys did well.”
- Said associate head coach Dave Sarachan: “The idea of having Landon a little more central was paramount to what our goals were in the game and put a little more pressure on a team that is very centralized. I thought for the most part, the way we played stifled them quite a bit. It was a battle of the midfield, quite frankly, and I thought by the end we had a little bit of the edge.”
- There are some injury concerns coming out of the RSL match. Fullback James Riley will be out for up to 6 months after suffering a meniscus tear in his left knee which forced him from the field after 33 minutes.
- Defender A.J. DeLaGarza is also facing a race to become fit after suffering an ankle injury that eventually forced him off the field in the 72nd minute.
- “I'm being optimistic. Hopefully, I can get out there and help the team [this weekend],” DeLaGarza said. “At the same time, I'm not going to put the team out there and not be able to perform 100 percent. Someone else can go there and do the job, and be healthy, but my goal is to be on the field any way possible.”
- Robbie Keane scored his, and the Galaxy’s, first goal of the league season to put LA into the lead. The goal came four days after Keane had hit for a brace in the 5-2 CONCACAF Champions League loss to Mexico’s Club Tijuana.
- “I thought it was a good performance, a good team performance,” Keane said. “Especially when you go a goal down to come back in the manner that we did and dominate the game in most points. Overall, a draw was probably a fair result. But a good response by the lads, and maybe last year we would have lost that game.”
