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Chivas USA Relieved After Its Scrappy Colorado Win
Chivas USA won the 2009 season opener against the Colorado Rapids 2-1, and the players and staff were relaxed and relieved after the challenging match.
Mar 22, 2009 2:49:22 AM
The match wasn't always pretty, but that won't bother a single member of the Chivas USA team. The Los Angeles-based club hosted the Colorado Rapids in their 2009 Major League Soccer season opener, and kept all three points in California.
“I thought we could have been a bit better at killing the game a little earlier, but we'll take the win the way it is,” admitted Chivas USA head coach Preki in the post match press conference.
The way it was saw midfield destroyer Paulo Nagamura score a quick-fire brace in the second half to overturn Omar Cummings' opener in the first half. Nagamura typically belies his Brazilian passport in favor of a more cautions game. Now in his fourth year of MLS action, he was Chivas USA's defender of the season last year, and has only scored four goals in his MLS career, two each in 2007 and 2008.
Nagamura explained that clear communication led to the first goal, which he struck sublimely from distance to beat Matt Pickens in the bottom left corner. Maykel Galindo had made a run and passed off the ball, and it looked like Jesse Marsch might take the ball. Instead, he moved aside and let Nagamura shoot.
“I screamed to him, 'Just leave it to me,' because I had a perfect shot,” said Nagamura.
Despite the quality of the strike, some credit for that goal must go to Galindo. The Cuban forward only came on at halftime, since he is continuing to build fitness, but his presence altered the match. His pace, ability to hold up the ball well, and offensive spark lit up the Chivas USA attack.
“Every time we have Galindo on the field, we're a different team,” said the matter-of-fact Preki. “That's not a secret.”
Another aspect of his team's game that Preki won't mind admitting publicly is that it knows how to close out a match. After gaining the lead, the team sank back a few more yards and held its shape for a scrappy win.
One player who didn't mind the chippy nature of a game such as this was Marsch.
“There are going to be moments in games that look a bit like the first half, where it's just a dog-fight out there,” the MLS original explained. “It's going to be about second balls and 50-50 balls. But even in those tight spaces and they're pressuring you hard, that's when your soccer and your passes have got to pay off and we've got to be a little bit sharper. It's the first game of the year; all in all, not a bad start.”
Since it's early in the season, and perhaps because he was impressed with his side's performance, Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni wasn't too down after the match. He hailed the game's excitement and complimented his side's pluck, despite warning that they would have to stay focused for the full 90 minutes in future games.
“I think we still stuck to our plan, got the ball wide, created the better opportunities, but this game's a cruel game,” he told Goal.com after the match. “When you don't finish your chances, that's the way it goes.”
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
“I thought we could have been a bit better at killing the game a little earlier, but we'll take the win the way it is,” admitted Chivas USA head coach Preki in the post match press conference.
The way it was saw midfield destroyer Paulo Nagamura score a quick-fire brace in the second half to overturn Omar Cummings' opener in the first half. Nagamura typically belies his Brazilian passport in favor of a more cautions game. Now in his fourth year of MLS action, he was Chivas USA's defender of the season last year, and has only scored four goals in his MLS career, two each in 2007 and 2008.
Nagamura explained that clear communication led to the first goal, which he struck sublimely from distance to beat Matt Pickens in the bottom left corner. Maykel Galindo had made a run and passed off the ball, and it looked like Jesse Marsch might take the ball. Instead, he moved aside and let Nagamura shoot.
“I screamed to him, 'Just leave it to me,' because I had a perfect shot,” said Nagamura.
Despite the quality of the strike, some credit for that goal must go to Galindo. The Cuban forward only came on at halftime, since he is continuing to build fitness, but his presence altered the match. His pace, ability to hold up the ball well, and offensive spark lit up the Chivas USA attack.
“Every time we have Galindo on the field, we're a different team,” said the matter-of-fact Preki. “That's not a secret.”
Another aspect of his team's game that Preki won't mind admitting publicly is that it knows how to close out a match. After gaining the lead, the team sank back a few more yards and held its shape for a scrappy win.
One player who didn't mind the chippy nature of a game such as this was Marsch.
“There are going to be moments in games that look a bit like the first half, where it's just a dog-fight out there,” the MLS original explained. “It's going to be about second balls and 50-50 balls. But even in those tight spaces and they're pressuring you hard, that's when your soccer and your passes have got to pay off and we've got to be a little bit sharper. It's the first game of the year; all in all, not a bad start.”
Since it's early in the season, and perhaps because he was impressed with his side's performance, Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni wasn't too down after the match. He hailed the game's excitement and complimented his side's pluck, despite warning that they would have to stay focused for the full 90 minutes in future games.
“I think we still stuck to our plan, got the ball wide, created the better opportunities, but this game's a cruel game,” he told Goal.com after the match. “When you don't finish your chances, that's the way it goes.”
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
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