After watching a gripping game in Major League Soccer last weekend, I couldn't resist tuning in for another. I noted the thousands of empty seats at Pizza Hut Park, the fact that it's called Pizza Hut Park and that they play the Dallas theme tune before kick off, and settled down for the real business.
In week one, Chivas USA beat Colorado Rapids at home, while FC Dallas lost to Chicago at PHP despite a goal from his own half by Kenny Cooper.
The first half wasn't bad but good midfield play was spoiled by some poor finishing and concerning defending. Dallas edged it, but Chivas were right in the game with plenty of opportunities of their own.
Ex-Dallas player Shavar Thomas had a superb chance to put his old side behind early on. FCD failed to clear a corner, presenting Thomas with a free header from which he'll be disappointed not to have scored.
The first 30 minutes were very scrappy, with both sides struggling to keep possession and create chances. The first fell to David Ferreira whose quick feet created a shot on goal which was easily saved by Zach Thornton. Chivas responded with a chance of their own, but lacked a little composure in the area.
In the 28th minute a cross from Dave van den Bergh on the volley found its way to Jeff Cunningham for Dallas via Kenny Cooper. Cunningham met the ball with a diving header all of one whole yard out, and if he ever finds an explanation for missing the target he's a better man than me.
Five minutes later Carey Talley swung a corner in for Chivas, and again it wasn't cleared. With the ball bouncing six yards out, Atiba Harris thumped it towards goal. Dallas goalkeeper Ray Burse was equal to it with a brilliant point-blank save. He followed up with a punch clear.
Now things were beginning to heat up. Cooper had two bites of the cherry against Thornton but the Chivas goalkeeper made two fantastic saves in as many seconds to keep his side level.
With 90 seconds left in the first half, Cunningham played a lovely through ball to Cooper. He took it in his stride, drew out Thornton and then snatched at his shot, skying it from the edge of the box. At this point, 0-0 looked an unlikely final result.
The first chance of the second half saw the ball in the back of the net for FCD. Cunningham flicked on a cross from Drew Moor, and Cooper superbly rounded Thornton in the Chivas goal before dumping the ball in the net - but he was offside when the cross was originally played. It was a good decision, from where I was looking.
Ten minutes in, route one won out for Chivas. A clever ball into the channel by youngster Gerson Mayen found Mexican striker Eduardo Lillingston. Lillingston met the ball on the edge of the Dallas box and steered his half volley past Burse to put the Los Angeles team ahead. Burse looked upset with himself as well as his defenders, but it was a neat finish he could do little about.
Mayen almost scored himself on his MLS debut, sidefooting past the far post from 20 yards after Justin Braun held the ball up well for him.
With 20 minutes to go, Mariano Trujillo was given a yellow card for time-wasting for a very brief but quite obvious delay, seconds after Lillingston took his time leaving the field upon being substituted. Now that is something we need in the Premier League.
Chivas were comfortable at 1-0, but Lillingston's substitute and debutant Bojan Stepanovic scored a cracker to settle the game on 75. Having signed for Chivas just two days before this game (but trained for a couple of weeks), Stepanovic took control of the ball, headed for goal and beat two men before sliding the ball past Burse into the bottom corner.
The inevitable onslaught from Dallas came but with little end product - in fact their final ball was a let-down throughout the match. In the 83rd, Chivas almost made it three when Braun hit the foot of the post with a well-taken strike from the edge of the area.
Chivas deserved their win. They were strong at the back, with Thomas controlling Cooper excellently and Thornton dealing with everything thrown at him. At the other end, they simply took their chances. Two games in, two home defeats for FC Dallas. Worrying times in Texas.
Posted by Chris Nee
1 comments:
So, is MLS ghetto chique now? The big one is next week, Toronto FC open to Seattle at home.
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