Chivas USA Settles for a Point

Chivas USA forward Maicon Santos bites his jersey in frustration after a missed opportunity during last night's match against San Jose. Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

Set pieces prove costly last night for Chivas USA and they are forced to settle for a 2 - 2 tie against the lowly San Jose Earthquakes.

"It was a weird game, I thought. We started well, we got ourselves a goal. We were sensing that any second we would score the second, then for a second we fall asleep, on a free kick and the game is tied 1 - 1," said Head Coach Preki Radosavljevic. Preki's comments were on the mark. The red-and-whites had taken control of the game from the start and took the lead on a goal by Maykel Galindo at the 7th minute.

Sacha Kljestan, who had fed a great long ball to Galindo for the first strike, along with Justin Braun proved to be more than a handful for the 'Quakes defense. As a result Chivas USA dominated and buzzed around the San Jose goal, but they were unable to extend the lead. Ironically, a foul by Kljestan would lead to the free kick Preki spoke of and the teams were tied at the 21st after San Jose defender Brandon McDonald capitalized on that opportunity.

Chivas USA continued to press the issue and generated further quality chances, but the score would remain the same until the second half. Unfortunately for the red-and-white faithful, it was San Jose that would change the scoreline, once again off of a free kick. Ryan Johnson found himself completely unmarked right in the penalty area as the ball was sent into the box on the restart. Johnson lobbed a header that looped just above the reach of Chivas USA 'keeper Zach Thornton and extended the lead for the visitors at the 58th minute.

Maicon Santos entered the game for Chivas USA before the restart following the San Jose goal and would later be joined by Jesus Padilla and Eduardo Lillingston to ratchet up the offensive pressure. Indeed, the plan worked. San Jose was pinned in their own half for extended periods of time, but little came of the pressure.

Santos combined well with Braun and Kljestan, but despite having two clear chances at the goal, he was unable to score. Braun would eventually bring the teams even at the 66th minute after Kljestan had fought his way into the penalty area. Kljestan got some help from Ante Jazic just outside the box and Braun did the rest by getting his head on Jazic's cross before San Jose could clear.

Braun would later have an opportunity to give the home side the lead in the dying minutes of the match when he found himself in a one-on-one versus San Jose 'keeper Andrew Weber. But Weber was riding high, having kept his side in the match throughout and he was up for the challenge and preserved the scoreline.

The tie temporarily gives Chivas USA the lead in the Western Conference. Victories in their final two regular season matches would ensure they capture the Western Conference title.

A final, unrelated note, kudos to Union Ultras for their tribute to U.S. Men's National Team member Charlie Davies.