L.A. Sides Mirror Scoresheets in Respective Victories
Chivas USA first half action against New York Red Bulls yesterday afternoon at the Home Depot Center. Angel Magaña/LAist
Chivas USA midfielder Jesus Padilla had a say in all the goals Saturday afternoon at the Home Depot Center as the red-and-white got a 2 - 0 victory over the New York Red Bulls.
Chivas USA Head Coach Martin Vasquez had started the match with his third lineup in as many matches and featured defender Jonathan Bornstein in an offensive midfield role and recently acquired Costa Rican International defender Dario Delgado in the backline. The changes seemed to be paying dividends in the first half and Chukwudi Chijindu, Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan would all get quality chances from close range, but none were able to give the home side the lead.
New York rarely posed a threat to the Chivas USA goal, but in the course of defending one of their threats, defender Ante Jazic suffered a sprain to his right knee. Jazic was unable to continue and Vasquez was forced to shuffle his lineup once again. The mishap opened the door for Padilla and he entered the match at the 39th minute. Padilla closed out the first half with a few touches, but it wasn't until the second half that his presence was truly felt.
At the 47th minute, Padilla received a ball just outside the New York penalty box. Padilla pulled the trigger, but his shot was deflected and ended up hitting the right post. New York 'keeper Bouna Coundoul had lost his balance while trying to correct his positioning due to the deflection and was sitting at the goal line as the ball bounced out in front of an open goal. Condoul took immediate action, but probably regretted it later. As he scrambled to get a hold of the ball, he somehow managed to punch it towards his own goal. Instead of keeping it out, he scored an own goal, giving the red-and-white the lead.
New York's danger man, Juan Pablo Angel, was muted by the Chivas USA defense for vast majority of the match. After the opening goal, New York tried to battle back and Angel managed a few headers at the red-and-white goal. However, Chivas USA 'keeper Zach Thornton and his backline were up for the task and preserved the lead. As the match entered injury time, Padilla would score the second goal after receiving a ball at a similar spot from where he shot for the first. He would slash across the top of the box and eventually bury it in the back of the net for a final score of 2 - 0.
The victory improves the Chivas USA record to 1 - 2 - 0 and is also Vasquez's first victory as a head coach.
Meanwhile, a little over 1,300 miles away (and some 3 hours later), Galaxy forward Edson Buddle continued his torrid scoring pace, burying 2 to lead the Galaxy to 2 - 0 victory over the Houston Dynamo.
The match pitted the 2009 Western Conference Finalists against each other for the first time this year. By the looks of it, no love has been lost between the two sides. It was a tough, physical match, but in the end, nothing could stop Buddle.
Buddle's first goal came at the 27th minute after a defensive miscue by Houston. The Dynamo defense was unable to control a bouncing clearance around midfield and Buddle made them pay for it. The Galaxy forward picked up the loose ball and worked his way deep into the Houston penalty box. Houston 'keeper Pat Onstad positioned himself for the shot but in doing so left his short side exposed. Despite what seemed like an impossible angle, Buddle delivered a perfect shot between the near post and Onstad to give the blue-and-gold the lead.
At the 44th minute, Houston forward Luis Angel Landin would earn a straight red card after swiping at the legs of Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez from behind. The ensuing bickering, pushing and shoving that resulted from the call seemed to rattle Houston quite a bit. The blue-and-gold seized the opportunity and charged down the field.
Houston tried to scramble back to defend and Onstad was able to stop Galaxy forward Mike Magee's shot. However, they were not out of danger. Galaxy defender Sean Franklin would end up receiving the rebound and he in turn sent a perfect cross to Buddle near the penalty spot. Buddle buried a one-time shot into the back of the net to close out the scoring for the night and give the Galaxy the 2 - 0 victory.
The 2 goals increases Buddle's tally to 5 goals in three matches and the victory helps keep the Galaxy perfect with a 3 - 0 - 0 (all shutouts).