Chivas end up on wrong end of even match
Red-and-White waste opportunity to move closer to clinching Western Conference
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"It was a difficult game under difficult conditions," Chivas USA head coach Preki said. "Chicago had a slight edge because of set pieces. They were dangerous on those. Other than that, it was an even game."
Statistically the teams were relatively even, with three shots on goal each. The Fire's plentiful corner kicks resulted in 13 shots for the club. In the 67th minute, Cuauhtemoc Blanco bent a perfect ball into the box. Chivas forward Eduardo Lillingston jumped up to head it out of harm's way. Instead it landed in the net for a Fire lead.
"Defensively we did a good job," defender Shavar Thomas said. "We defended by trying to keep the ball away from them. But we gave up way too many opportunities on set pieces."
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Chivas got off to a good start. Lillingston took shots in the first and third minutes, causing Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch to make the saves. But they didn't have another on goal until Marcelo Saragosa in the 83rd minute, when Busch grabbed his free kick opportunity to ensure the shutout.
"This is a tough place to play in," Chivas midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. "We were creating chances, and our defense played well. We were trying to score until the end. We didn't come here to lose."
While Chivas lost the chance to win the Supporters' Shield for the best regular-season record -- the Columbus Crew clinched the honor with 49 points -- the Red-and-White are still in a three-way tie atop the Western Conference entering the final weekend.
Chivas USA will return home to play host to Houston at The Home Depot Center at 12 noon Sunday to close out the regular season. The night before, they will learn what they need to do to ensure a good seed in the Western Conference Semifinal Series when the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders FC meet FC Dallas.
"Tonight was a wasted opportunity," Preki said. "We have had two opportunities to win the conference. Now we have to take care of business at home on Sunday."
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
