Chivas USA 1 : 0 Sounders FC

Sounders Dominate and Disappoint in Equal Measure

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An Eduardo Lillingston goal in the 38th minute separated the sides but it was cruel for Seattle who hitherto had dominated the match. In addition, the Sounders received yet another red card after Nate Jaqua was sent off in the 88th minute for his second booking, their fifth of the season.

The day did not start well for Seattle. Peter Vagenas was due to start the game but sprained his ankle during the warm up and had to be withdrawn, Stephen King getting the starting nod instead. Nonetheless Sounders totally overwhelmed the league leaders and played close to their best football of the season.

Solid goal chances however did not flow from Sounders domination. Their best chance of the first half came in the 18th minute when Nate Jaqua received a Fredy Montero pass but he hesitated slightly and Shavar Thomas was able to intercept his effort wide for a corner.

In the 25th minute, a huge dipping Tyson Wahl cross into the box from left back found Jaqua accurately. He beat his marker to head across the box for Montero, who outjumped Shavar Thomas to head over the bar under pressure. Shortly after came a moment that is giving many Sounders fans cause for grumbling. Eduardo Lillingston jumped with Hurtado and seemed to use his elbow to fend off the Colombian’s challenge, exactly as Fredy Montero had in the Chicago Fire match. Montero was red carded for his and Lillingston received just a yellow.

Despite the possession however, Sounders barely landed a shot on target and it was on a rare foray upfield that Chivas took the lead, and Lillingston’s escape came back to haunt Seattle.

Former Sounder Maykel Galindo swept the ball to the left and found Paulo Nagamura. He beat Hurtado and his effort produced an wonderful save from Kasey Keller, who had been a virtual spectator up to then. Unfortunately for Seattle, the ball fell kindly at Lillingston’s feet and he hammered it home with his left foot to give the Goats a barely deserved lead, as Patrick Ianni looked on in horror.

The first half stats summed up the frustrating nature of the match. Chivas created two shots, both of which were on target. Keller pushed the first out to Lillingston who converted the second. Sounders created twice as many shots, but only put the one on target, a conversion rate of 25%.

You had to feel some sympathy for the Sounders, and especially for a frustrated Sigi Schmid on the touchline and a hard-working Freddie Ljungberg out on the pitch. But also credit has to be given to an excellent showing by the Chivas back four. Some of their timely interceptions and positioning testify to a reading of the game that is ahead of anyone else playing in the MLS. Pardon the double negatives, but they are not top of the league for no reason, and Preki has built an efficient, competent and technically aware unit that is way more than the collection of hardmen often portrayed in the media.

In the second half, Sounders continued to threaten. Montero fired wide after just 18 seconds of the half, after Atiba Harris surrendered him the ball. Ljungberg wriggled clear in the 55th and produced the most testing moment for Zach Thornton who saved, diving to his left. The subsequent corner as was normal came to nothing.

Three minutes later, Hurtado was both villain and hero. He fluffed a clearance and found Lillingston who neatly chipped Keller. But Hurtado had recovered from the error, stayed vigilant and was on the goal line to clear from under the bar and prevent a goal.

In the 64th minute, a deeper lying Montero looped a great pass out to the left. Steve Zakuani stylishly back heeled it on the volley to Brad Evans, who lashed his volley straight at Thornton. It would have been a goal of the season candidate.

But it was the introduction of Sebastien Le Toux in the 65th minute that galvanised the side. Within seconds, the Frenchman and Brad Evans were involved in a neat three man move with Jaqua, which resulted in the big Oregonian turning a defender and blasting just wide.

Just three minutes later, Jhon Hurtado was gifted the clearest chance in the 68th minute. Le Toux drew a free kick, one of many in this game. Chivas committed 19 fouls of them, one more than they committed in the last meeting, which was at the time the most Seattle had suffered. From the resultant Ljungberg free kick, Ianni bravely went in with the boots and bodies flying and the ball seemed to cannon downwards off his chest. It bounced up and presented Hurtado with a header towards an open goal. Unfortunately he headed over. The look on the Colombian’s face said it all after the miss. It wasn’t to be Seattle’s day target wise.

This game uncannily resembled the previous meeting between the two. Chivas had fewer shots but put more of them on target. Chivas had just six shots in this game, but three of them were on target. Their figures for the last meeting were identical. Sounders had eleven shots with two on target in the April 18th meeting, and their numbers for this meeting were eleven and three. As in the last game, Chivas defenders used their reading of the game rather than any pace to intercept many Sounders moves, and as Ljungberg pumped a succession of free kicks into their penalty box, their centre halves were dominant and able to foil too many goal attempts. Zach Thornton made just three saves.

Next week Sounders will be without both Nate Jaqua and Jhon Hurtado. Jaqua’s red means an automatic suspension for one game and Hurtado has accumulated five yellows and earned a ban. Tyrone Marshall will be back from suspension.

Sounders FC stay in third place in the Western Conference behind Chivas and Houston, and return home for the visit of the San Jose Earthquakes next Saturday. It will be the second match between the two sides this season. Seattle’s last victory this season came at home against San Jose, 2-0, on April 25.

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Chivas USA: Zach Thornton, Mariano Trujillo, Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas (Claudio Suarez 70), Jorge Flores, Atiba Harris, Machael Lahoud, Paulo Nagamura, Justin Braun, Maykel Galindo (Alecko Eskandarian 90), Eduardo Lillingston (Sasha Victorine 68)

Sounders FC: Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Brad Evans, Freddie Ljungberg, Stephen King, Steve Zakuani (Sanna Nyassi 79), Fredy Montero (Sebastien Le Toux 65), Nate Jaqua

Substitutes Not Used: Roger Levesque, Peter Vagenas, Nathan Sturgis, Evan Brown, Ben Dragavon.

Matches today (all times Pacific):
FC Dallas v San Jose Earthquakes 12pm
New England Revolution v New York Red Bulls 3pm

WESTERN CONFERENCE TABLE – 6/6/2009