LA GALAXY vs CHIVAS USA
STUBHUB CENTER, Carson, Calif.
Oct. 6, 2013 (WEEK 32, MLS Game #296)
2 p.m. PT (UniMas; TWCSN-LA)
Galaxy and Chivas USA meet at StubHub Center. The Galaxy come into the contest looking to put an end to a four-match winless run, their last contest a 1-0 loss at the Portland Timbers, that has left them just a point clear in the top five of the Western Conference. Chivas USA are coming off a second consecutive defeat, a late goal giving the San Jose Earthquakes a 1-0 win last weekend in Carson.
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REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. AR1 (bench): Mike Kampmeinert; AR2 (opposite): Jeff Hosking; 4th: Kevin Stott
MLS Career: 156 games; FC/gm: 24.0; Y/gm: 3.0; R: 32; pens: 46
DISABLED LIST: CHV: Daniel Antunez
SUSPENDED: LA: Bruce Arena (head coach; through Oct. 6) … CHV: Oswaldo Minda (caution accumulation; through Oct. 6)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: LA: Juninho, Marcelo Sarvas … CHV: Carlos Alvarez, Mario de Luna
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: LA: A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin … CHV: Bobby Burling, Gabriel Farfan, Tristan Bowen
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (27 meetings): Galaxy 17 wins, 43 goals … Chivas USA 4 wins, 21 goals … Ties 6
AS GALAXY HOME GAME (14 meetings): Galaxy 9 wins, 26 goals … Chivas USA 2 wins, 12 goals … Ties 3
2013 (MLS)
3/17: LA 1, CHV 1 (McBean 83 – Alvarez 89)
6/23: CHV 0, LA 1 (Zardes 44)
- The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Gyasi Zardes scored the game’s only goal for a Galaxy win in the first SuperClasico at the newly named StubHub Center on June 23; the teams played to a 1-1 tie March 17 in Carson.
- The Galaxy have won nine of the last 11 league meetings, dating back to 2009. Chivas USA won 1-0 last May 19, their first victory against the Galaxy since Aug. 23, 2007, snapping an 11-game winless run in SuperClasicos.
- Coaches record: Jose Luis Real vs. LA: : P1 W0 L0 D1 … Bruce Arena vs. CHV: P14 W9 L3 D2
LAST MEETING (MLS)
- The game's lone goal arrived in the 44th minute. Landon Donovan delivered a free kick into the box from out on the right and Gyasi Zardes finished off the set piece with a perfectly-placed header that glanced off the post and into the back of the net.
- Galaxy goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini was called upon to make just one save on the evening, turning away a Jose Manuel Rivera volley with a diving stop in the 29th minute.
- LA GALAXY (4-4-2): Carlo Cudicini - Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant - Landon Donovan, Marcelo Sarvas, Juninho, Robbie Rogers (Pablo Mastroeni 75) - Gyasi Zardes (Hector Jimenez 87), Robbie Keane.
- CHIVAS USA (4-1-3-1-1): Dan Kennedy - Carlos Borja, Walter Vilchez, Mario de Luna, Josue Soto - Oswaldo Minda (Jorge Villafana 41) - Tristan Bowen, Carlos Alvarez, Gabriel Farfan - Jose Rivera (Laurent Courtois 60) - Jose Correa (Marky Delgado 46).
LA GALAXY
The LA Galaxy had their winless streak extended to four matches, the Portland Timbers claiming a 1-0 victory Sunday afternoon at Jeld-Wen Field. The Galaxy are in a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference with 45 points from 30 matches.
LAST MATCH
- The game's lone goal came in the 52nd minute when Maximiliano Urruti brilliantly redirected a corner kick from Will Johnson past Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo with a flick of the outside of his right boot from close range.
- The Timbers survived a late chance when an apparent header by LA's Robbie Keane from a Landon Donovan free kick in the first minute of stoppage time found the back of the net but was ruled offside, leading to vehement objections by the Galaxy.
- Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that reached a 1-1 result with Seattle Sounders FC at StubHub Center. Kofi Opare came into central defense in place of Leonardo, and Landon Donovan started up top instead of Jose Villarreal.
- LA GALAXY (4-4-2): Jaime Penedo - Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Kofi Opare (Laurent Courtois 84), Todd Dunivant - Hector Jimenez (Michael Stephens 60), Marcelo Sarvas, Juninho (Jose Villarreal 87), Gyasi Zardes - Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan.
TEAM NEWS
- The Galaxy return home for three consecutive games, two against Western Conference rivals (Chivas USA, and San Jose on Oct. 20). They play Montreal on Oct. 16.
- “Still another 12 points to get,” said Robbie Keane. “We're certainly quite capable of doing that, but we need to starting kicking on now because there's not much time left. We can't [keep making] mistakes – we keep conceding from these set pieces, we can forget about getting to the playoffs.”
- Said Omar Gonzalez: “At home, we can't drop any points. We've got to get, hopefully, nine points out of those three games, and if we do that, we'll be sitting OK.”
- The Galaxy have now conceded 13 goals from dead-ball situations, the most in MLS, two more than Chivas USA. They have allowed 18 goals in the final 15 minutes plus stoppage time of league games, which has cost them a total of 15 points.
- “We got beat by a set piece again, so that's not good,” Gonzalez said. “I think [we need] just ... I don't know, being tighter on the guy you're marking and just wanting it more. I know we've been saying that over and over again, and we still keep on seeing mistakes happen. Maybe just foul the guy. Do anything you can to not let the guy get a goal and hope that the red doesn't call a PK. I mean, we've got to be more aggressive.”
- Said Keane: “Forget about tactics and all that stuff, it's about desire and commitment to go and win the ball. At this moment in time, the other teams have just probably more desire than we have to try and defend set pieces.”
- Kofi Opare started his second game in the last four, coming into central defense alongside Omar Gonzalez. Leonardo missed out for the first time since July 27, after seven consecutive MLS starts.
- “It's a mentality. Defensive set pieces is solely a mentality: who wants the ball more,” Donovan said. “Too often guys have let down in that area. So either you change who's marking or people don't play if they can't do that. Sort of the harsh reality, but that's the way it has to be. You can't keep giving up goals like that.”
- After missing a match with an ankle sprain, Landon Donovan returned to the lineup to partner Robbie Keane in attack.
- “We have three games in a row now at home, and realistically to put ourselves in good position, we need to win all three,” Donovan said. “We feel like we can win all three, we should win all three, but we can't keep giving up goals like we did. As the season gets toward the end and get tighter, those are the plays that matter. And we have to make sure we're on the positive end of those, not the negative end.”
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA lost for a second consecutive match, a late goal condemning them to a 1-0 defeat by the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday evening at StubHub Center. Chivas USA sit in ninth place in the Western Conference with 26 points from 31 matches.
LAST MATCH
- The Earthquakes were a man down after the 81st minute after Steven Lenhart received a second yellow card following a collision with Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy in front of goal.
- The game's only goal came in the 87th minute. A seemingly harmless shot by Alan Gordon was mishandled by Kennedy and Chris Wondolowski raced in to tuck the rebound into the back of the net.
- Chivas USA head coach Jose Luis Real made two changes to the team that fell to a 5-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. Steve Purdy and Carlos Borja came into the back four in place of Carlos Bocanegra and Jorge Villafana.
- CHIVAS USA (4-2-3-1): Dan Kennedy - Mario de Luna, Steve Purdy (Jaime Frias 40), Bobby Burling, Carlos Borja - Edgar Mejia, Oswaldo Minda - Eric Avila (Matthew Fondy 52), Carlos Alvarez (Tristan Bowen 70), Bryan de la Fuente - Erick Torres.
TEAM NEWS
- Coming off the 1-0 win vs. D.C. United on Sept. 8, Chivas USA have now gone winless in their last three games, losing the last two.
- “I think we are still assimilating that we lost really. … We stayed very organized on the field and waiting for a space to open so we could take a counterattack that would allow us to score a goal,” said Chivas head coach Jose Luis Real. “That was the idea for the game, I think in general it worked but unfortunately once again in the last minutes we made the individual errors on our end.”
- “We are definitely better than our results,” goalkeeper Dan Kennedy said. “We’ve been on the short end of some things, but we’re fielding one of the youngest teams in the league. For me, with where we’re at and with what this team has been through, we’re still finding things to build on. I’m optimistic about everything.”
- They suffered a second 1-0 loss in the last five matches, their fifth loss this season by a 1-0 scoreline. Chivas was held without a goal for the 12th time this season.
- “What you are mentioning is the key to what our attack can do better. We don’t shoot on goal. With Fondy coming in we did better, with Bryan [de la Fuente’s] shots, but in general, that’s a defect that we need to work on with our team,” said Real.
- Carlos Bocanegra was not available for the match, suffering a left soleus strain. He has made nine starts in 12 matches since his arrival at Chivas USA.
- Steve Purdy made his first start since Aug. 11 vs. Colorado, coming into central defense. But he was taken off before halftime after suffering facial fractures following a collision with San Jose’s Steven Lenhart.
- Jaime Frias came on in place of Purdy, playing the final 50 minutes. Frias became the 17th player to make his MLS debut playing for Chivas USA this season.
- Matthew Fondy came on for a fourth match out of the last five, matching his longest shift in an MLS match after entering the game in the 52nd minute.
- “I think that [Matthew] Fondy and [Tristan] Bowen coming into the game was very important for the improvement of the team’s performance, even [Jaime] Frias coming in for his debut today, another young guy who made his debut today. I believe the second half we did well in general,” Real said.
