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Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura celebrates his first half goal with teammate Sacha Kljestan. Photo by Getty Images
Karma has a funny way of rearing its head at the most inopportune time. Thursday night, as 20,739 fans readied themselves to celebrate a great victory by Chivas USA over the Chicago Fire in a tough, physical match, karma intervened, putting the party on hold and handing the Fire a 3 - 2 victory.
Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura had opened the scoring at the 16th minute with a deceitful long range shot from about 35 yards, but the lead was short lived. The man that many had come to see, Chicago midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco leveled the scored at the 25th minute on a penalty kick. The red-and-whites captured the lead again at the 37th minute after forward Maykel Galindo converted on a penalty he had suffered deep in the Chicago box. Having been the better team for most of the first half, the 2 - 1 half time lead for the red-and-whites seemed just, although a bit of luck in the early minutes had also kept them from being down or even.
Regardless, after the halftime break, the game opened up and Chivas USA increased their dominance over the visitors. Sacha Kljestan, Atiba Harris, Eduardo Lillingston and Maykel Galindo combined well from the start to generate several quality chances, but none were able to capitalize. The match would change in favor of the Fire at the 63rd minute when Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch received his second yellow in a span of twelve minutes following a harsh tackle on Blanco.
Now a man down, the red-and-whites struggled to find their rhythm and quickly lost control of midfield. Chicago Head Coach Denis Hamlett sensed the shift in momentum and tried to take advantage by stacking up the offensive side, bringing in Justin Mapp, Baggio Husidic and Patrick Nyarko, while going with only two natural defenders in the back. The moves added to the pressure already building on the Chivas USA defense since Marsch's ejection and the Fire buzzed around the Chivas USA goal.
The tying goal was within grasp for Chicago and at the 89th minute, Nyarko pulled the teams even when he found himself in the Chivas USA box at the receiving end of a deflected pass from Mapp. Injury time came and extended for about 7 minutes, partly due to a pause in play earlier in the half due to an injury to Chivas USA 'keeper Zach Thornton. At the 96th minute, Blanco broke the hearts of Chivas USA fans by burying his second penalty on the night, giving the Fire the 3 - 2 victory and keeping them undefeated on the season.
Afterwards, Chivas USA Head Coach Preki Radosavljevic was visibly upset at the officiating and seemed to have a hard time choosing words suitable for broadcast. A somber, disappointed feeling also permeated throughout the locker room. Nagamura, who put in a great performance on the night, preferred to reserve his comments about the officiating, stating "if you want my honest opinion.....the league is likely going to fine me.." and promptly bit his tongue on the subject.
Many of the other comments had some similarity to those expressed by D.C. United and Kansas City officials and fans in the last two weeks after their respective matches against Chivas USA. In the case of of D.C. United, a missed offside call on Galindo led to a Chivas USA goal which proved critical in the end given the final scoreline of 2 - 2. As for Kansas City, a second expulsion put an end to the Wizards' offensive threats late in the game and helped the red-and-whites get back into the game and preserve a 1 - 1 tie.
Sometimes the breaks go your way, sometimes they don't. Sometimes karma comes to town.
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