Chivas USA jump to top of West
Dramatic victory moves Red-and-White into first-place tie with Galaxy
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- Highlights: CHV 1, SJ 0
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Carey Talley said he had an inkling of what would happen when Ante Razov stepped over the ball to take the free kick.
"I figured that he was going to hit this one," Talley said. "It's late in the game. He's a goal scorer. A guy like that, he wants the ball at his feet and have an opportunity to put the game away. And he did."
Razov knocked in his attempt in the 88th minute to propel Chivas USA to a 1-0 win against San Jose. The goal was Razov's third of the season and 112th of his career. It also catapulted Chivas USA past four other Western Conference teams and moved into a first-place tie with fellow Home Depot Center dwellers LA Galaxy ahead of Thursday's SuperClasico.
In the Eastern Conference, though, 21 points would be good for fourth place.
"That's how our league is. You are always in it. Parity is what they want and certainly I think they've got it," Razov said. "It's not the greatest record. We know we're a long way from where we possibly could be once we get all our guys back we'll just keep plugging away."
Injuries to forwards Maykel Galindo and Alecko Eskandarian have kept Chivas USA from keeping a consistent forward line as coach Preki has had to mix-and-match strikers nearly all season long.
Saturday, it was Razov and Atiba Harris paired together up top with Justin Braun on the bench.
Razov, who said he is feeling healthy and comfortable on the ball in recent weeks, stepped toward his late free kick attempt with a bit of initial uncertainty.
"We were trying to figure out if it was too far," Razov said, as he stood over the ball with Sacha Kljestan. "We thought it was a little far to begin with so we thought about playing it into the box."
Instead, Razov picked out his corner and let his feelings dictate his choice.
"Adrenaline kind of takes over and I made the decision to take it," Razov said. "(I) just (tried) to concentrate on getting it over the wall. I saw that side was clearly open. (Joe Cannon) was playing his wall and if I just got it over and got it down it had a chance."
Razov sent the ball over the wall indeed and it bent away from Cannon and settled into the back of the net.
The goal punctuated an overall positive output from Razov. The MLS Original finished with five shots and three on goal. He also rattled a shot off the left post in the 53rd minute and was active in the attack throughout the match.
"Tonight was his best performance," Preki said. "He looked calmer on the ball. I don't know if it's his fitness ... but he was better on the ball tonight but so was the whole team tonight."
Chivas USA started off slowly despite holding the ball for the majority of the opening quarter-hour, Preki said.
"After 10-15 minutes, we picked it up. I thought we were decent, pushing the tempo and trying to break them down. They defended with numbers behind the ball, sometimes eight, sometimes nine," he said. "We created enough opportunities in the first half to go into halftime with a little advantage but we didn't."
Defender Bobby Burling nearly opened the scoring but his 41st-minute header slammed off the crossbar.
Still, even after Razov's shot off the post, the Red-and-White did not let their shoulders sag.
"We were moving the ball side to side and getting some chances. We were a bit unlucky to hit the post," Razov said. "We were thinking positive. We were playing with confidence and trying to push the game."
It was San Jose, though, who enjoyed a brief spell of good fortune midway through the second half as former Chivas USA SuperDraft choice John Cunliffe entered the match for the visitors in the 66th minute.
Kelly Gray and Kei Kamara had shots within moments of each other five minutes later as San Jose began to show something offensively for the first time in the match.
"They changed things up. Probably 60 minutes in they pulled another guy in the middle of the field and made things more difficult for us," Talley said. "Brad (Guzan) made a couple of good saves there and paid the price on one of them, falling on his tailbone there. But that's what we need from guys. There were a few guys who came up big for us tonight."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
