Photo by ISIPhotos.com
BY DAN KARELL
Chivas USA shook off an early season loss with an impressive 3-1 victory over FC Dallas on Sunday at the Home Depot Center. Down a goal in the second half, the Goats pulled off three successive finishes to get three important points at home.
Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy played a big role once again, making six saves and keeping the home side in the match, but it was the whole squad that earned the plaudits from coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola.
“With the score against us [1-0] , with little time on the clock,” said Luis Sanchez Sola. “We came back when some people thought we were dead and [Chivas USA] kept on fighting and found Dallas’ net three times.
Kennedy was forced to make a save in the opening twenty seconds, saving a Kenny Cooper strike. He was asked questions from the FC Dallas forwards again in the 32nd minute, and again kept the ball out of the net.
Schellas Hyndman’s side finally got on the board on the 57th minute, when David Ferreira finished a brilliant solo run, beating two defenders before finishing low to give FC Dallas the lead.
The lead lasted just nine minutes, as Chivas USA seemed to wake up following that goal. In the 68th minute, former Red Bull Juan Agudelo scored an impressive finish with his left foot to tie the match.
“I feinted and moved away from the defender to open up, received the ball shielding it with my body, and then put it in the net,” said Agudelo.
Next up was Oswaldo Minda, who put the Goats ahead for good eight minutes later. Taking advantage of a defensive miscue from Dallas defender George John, Minda was put through on goal, who calmly finished into the back of the net. The 29-year old Ecuadorian credited the club’s fight and determination after last week’s performance for the comeback on Sunday.
“The team has suffered throughout the week because of last week’s result,” said Minda. “But today’s results came from the hard work and dedication we have put in during training sessions day in and day out.”
In the 93rd minute, Chivas USA put the match away, scoring the final goal on a 3-on-1 counter attack. Midfielders Eric Avila and Edgar Mejia both got touches, before the ball reached the feet of substitute Giovanni Casillas, who expertly finished into the near post, sending nearly all of the 6,801 in attendance into wild celebrations.
“I am very happy to have scored my first goal in the league,” said the 19-year-old Casillas, who is on-loan from parent club Chivas de Guadalajara in Mexico. “We fought hard throughout the game and pressured well. We capitalized on our opportunities this time.”
For Hyndman, it was yet another case where his FC Dallas side couldn’t do enough to secure victory on the road.
“We should have condensed the field and made things a bit more difficult, instead we opened it up,” said Hyndman. “I think we played well enough to win the game, we just did not play smart enough.”
His counterpart Luis Sanchez Sola, always one for a good soundbyte, provided one that could last the rest of the season, describing his side that now sit 1-1.
“In this team we are all obligated to play soccer, but nobody is obligated to do the impossible.
“However, this team [Chivas USA] today got to the edge of the impossible”
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