Texas Draw
By: Alex | October 12th, 2007Chivas USA came away with a tie against Dallas 0-0 last night. While some teams will gladly walk away from a road game with a point, the red and white are after the Supporters Shield and the western conference.
The game was hard fought. Dallas attacked the entire 90, and did not allow the Chivas to play their possession football. It was Juan Toja night, and 5000 Toja wigs were distributed to fans. This seemed to excite the player, as he proved to be the most dangerous defending player on the field. He was intercepting balls and creating attacks. The other player that kept them in the game was Serioux. He defended well and proved troublesome.
Denilson was an interesting player. Dallas supporters have been calling this guy out since he came to the MLS. They feel that being a DP, he should be superman. I thought he played a good game. Maybe he didn’t score 3 goals, but he worked hard and created chances. Plus, he has played a whole 7 games in the league. I know, he’s a DP, he shouldn’t have to adjust to this league, but give the guy a chance. I think MLS is extremely different than La Liga and the Brazilian style of play, where Denilson came from. To me, the high pressure more closely resembles the EPL, which is why Becks and Angel took so little time to adapt. But look at Fred over at DC. Just give him some time, and he could be a real threat next year.
Back to the Goats. They played well defensively. Usually they turn it on in the second half after the other team gets tired, but unfortunately, Dallas kept coming. Merlin worked his heart out, and was pretty much non-existent. Cunlife can read the game like no other, and when he develops I see good things. His positioning was good, but the midfield had trouble breaking through the back line. Hernandez filled in for the emperor and did a fantastic job. Klejstan is starting to look better and better with each passing game. His passes are getting smarter and trickier.
The game was super frustrating for both teams on two fronts. First, neither team got many shots off (Dallas had more opportunities that the Chivas). Second the ref was a little off. I hate calling these guys out, but he didn’t do his job. The aggression between Mendoza and Alvarez was allowed to escalate until a card was shown. Dallas had a guy red carded, and still no one knows why. For us the most frustrating part was Mendoza’s off sides call. REFEREES, JUST BECAUSE THE DEFENSE GIVES UP AND RAISES THEIR ARM, DOES NOT MEAN THE BALL IS OFF SIDES! Please try to watch when the ball is passed and the positioning of the striker. Just a little hint. We could have walked away with three points.
I think the biggest outcome of this game, more important than the point was the injury of Ante Razov. He is the brains of the front line, and connects well with Galindo and Mendoza. Without that element, we could struggle in the playoffs. He could be out for 4-6 weeks.
Shoot me your thoughts on the game.
 |
MLS Forums | Chivas USA Results |  |
 |
Category: Team News
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments
-
I’m gutted over the Razov situation. He may not be the leader like Suarez or Marsch but he really is the heart of this team. Loosing him now could break their momentum. I was told he complained on the bench he didn’t feel right but Preki put him in anyways? If thats the case, then Preki made a really bad choice during an otherwise stellar coaching season.
Posted from
United States
-
I don’t believe Preki put Ante in anyways. At least, I don’t like to think so.
According to Marsch,
“Preki has been real good all year at kind of having an open dialogue with guys and understanding,” Marsch said. “There have been some games where he wanted to rest me but I said that I didn’t need a rest. He’s been really good to work with in terms of that.”
Preki seems to know when to push the veteran players and when not to, but then what Marsch said was a week ago and he could have been wrong, right?
I mean when I heard Ante went into the game (I missed the second half and I heard it later), I was also feeling like ‘why is he going in? Doesn’t he still have that hamstring strain thing?’ But I figured Ante knows his body more than anybody else. He knows he’s not 21 years old. He even said something like that over David Beckham’s playing at last SuperClasico.
Anyways, I hope he recovers really fast, because more than his teammates needing him on the field, I want to see him on the field.
Posted from
United States
Comments are closed
Home 
