Back home, below are the farcical scenes that greeted Costa Rica in Denver, where it was the Americans that scored the lucky and deciding goal Friday of the World Cup qualifier, as our sister newspaper, The Denver Post, reports. Watch:
As expected MLS has moved the Galaxy’s scheduled April 6 home game against the Montral Impact to Oct. 16, ensuring the club have the weekend off between their two-leg CONCACAF Champions League semifinal April 3 and 10 against Monterrey. The Galaxy also plan to move their reserve league opener against the LA Blues to an as yet unspecified date.
For the same reason, Chivas USA’s April 7 match at Seattle was moved to 7 p.m. Sept. 4 because of the Sounders’ participation in the competition (Chivas USA plays in Vancouver Sept. 1, by the way, raising the possibility for Goats fans of a two-game road trip the week of Labor Day).
Finally, Chivas USA’s May 12 road game against the Portland Timbers has been moved up an hour to 2 p.m.
Former Cal State Northridge soccer standout Devin Del Do, 26, of Valencia has signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was dramatic. Local rookie scores equalizer a minute from time in local derby. Four yellow cards, two reds. Thirty fouls total.
Quotable: “A lot of people probably thought that game was over once the Galaxy scored,” said Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. “I was really proud of us last week when we came back from a goal down to score three and get a victory. This week I have that same exact feeling. We had everything against us, we were playing with ten men against the two-time defending champs, and we showed that we could still get on the board and make this match competitive.”
Led by Irish talisman and club captain Robbie Keane, the Galaxy would appear to have the rub of the green today at home against their struggling cross hallway rivals in an early season SuperClasico that has an air of mystery about it and a notable absence of hype.
Staff Writer Phil Collin has the game story and quotes from the colorful Chivas USA coach Chelis, who reminds me of former U.S. national team coach Bora Milutinović (incomprehensible in all of the multiple languages he spoke, was the joke).
In just two press conferences the metaphorical and regionally colloquial Chelis has spoken of dandruff, rifles and now a barrel of you know what in press conferences that have baffled even native Spanish speakers attempting to translate.
To wit: “In this team we are all obligated to play soccer, but nobody is obligated to do the impossible. However, this team today got to the edge of the impossible.”
In the battle of quotes that is Chelis verses Schellas, Dallas coach Hyndman had this to say:
“The first two goals, I think, were defensive errors which are going to happen, and the third goal we put everything forward. I think we played well enough to win the game, we just did not play smart enough. ”
I’ll say.
The Dallas goal was a comedy of defending with two Chivas USA players left eating dust and goalkeeper Dan Kennedy seeing the effort go between his legs.
Dallas had nothing to laugh about, however. The defensive lapses that led to the first two Chivas USA goals were inexcusable, but to Chivas USA’s credit they punished the Dallas back line mercilessly.
I’m not convinced Chivas USA won the game as much as Dallas lost it, but at least it has set up a more interesting SuperClasico next Sunday that will have a larger audience than Sunday’s game:
Officially, there are 6,801 at the #ChivasUSA game in #Carson. Unofficially, I’d say its closer to half that.
It will be interesting to see just how many people show up in Carson today given that the second game of the season is always a tougher sell than the home opener, especially on a blustery late winter afternoon and with Chivas USA’s well-documented problems.
The contest is not a particularly evocative one for the casual fan either. These are two unimpressive teams.
Chivas USA, which finished at the bottom of the Western Conference last year and was comprehensively outclassed in its home opener 3-0 by the Columbus Crew, hasn’t beaten FC Dallas in its last seven attempts, a stretch dating back to 2009.
The two teams played to three ties last year.
Dallas sneaked by a pretty poor Colorado Rapids team 1-0 in their MLS opener last weekend with a flukey goal, but finished last season with four consecutive losses.
Hello, anyone home? Home Depot Center Saturday a little over 10 minutes before the kickoff of Chivas USA’s MLS season opener.
It’s hard to believe just how big a debacle Chivas USA has become for this market, this league and this sport.
Nevertheless, things appear to be coming to a head if we are to believe what MLS Commissioner Don Garber had to say this weekend.
Chivas USA is down to its last few loyal troops in the stands — the long-suffering likes of the Black Army and Union Ultras are still commendably hanging in there, even if few others are.
Fans who bought club seats at the HDC and get tickets to every event are unwilling to sit through Chivas USA games. You can get the best seats in the house for the game Sunday on Stubhub for as little as just over $10 apiece, so why anyone would want to buy a game ticket that starts at $17 this year directly from the club is beyond me.
And that’s not going to help the club’s sagging attendance at all.
For possible solutions, read this column (sent to me by the folks at the Black Army) in the wake of the column’s publication. Worth trying or smacking of desperation?
