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MLS Tickets- Chivas USA 2, New England 0
After losing five of its past seven games, Chivas USA senses the urgency for a playoff push. Maicon Santos and Sacha Kljestan scored goals, and goalkeeper Zach Thornton's solid performance gave Chivas USA a 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution. Get MLS tickets and see Santos score a goal. Chivas USA (11-9-3), which snapped a two-game losing streak, moved into a tie with Colorado for fourth place in the Western Conference and a three-way tie with D.C. United for sixth in the overall standings. The top two teams in each conference and the clubs with the next four highest point totals qualify for the playoffs. Santos told the press that every game "is like the final four." The Brazilian forward explained that you can't lose or afford to play bad if you want to make the post season.
Santos, Mexican forward Jesus Padilla, and Colombian defender Yamith Cuesta - all starters in this match - could play major roles after being acquired on loans in the past four weeks. Chivas USA forward Justin Braun acknowledged that all three players have made a huge impact since joining the team. The forward continued to say they are great players and they bring a different style to the team. What style do they bring? They bring that Latin style, the technical ability they all possess. The Revolution (9-8-6) lost their second consecutive game after winning three in a row. They are fifth in the East and 11th overall, three points out of the last playoff spot. New England head coach Steve Nicol expressed his frustration after the match by stating that his club had no energy.
The coach did not like his club's lethargic effort in the first half, and believes his team controlled the ball very poorly throughout the match. Nicol noted that his team "coughed up" the ball and gave it away on too many occasions, which left his team under pressure. Santos, who signed with Chivas USA on August 21, scored his first MLS goal in the 10th minute. Braun beat defender Jay Heaps along the right flank and fed the ball to a wide open Santos, who scored from seven yards. Chivas USA coach Preki said his team emerged out of the locker room with a lot of confidence. After Chivas scored their first goal, Preki believes they had five or six more golden opportunities to register another goal in the next 10 to 15 minutes.
Preki was disappointed that his club did not score during that span, but they were still in the lead 1-0. The coach wanted to quickly expand on the lead since he was "afraid that something is going to go wrong somewhere." Kljestan scored on a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time. Chivas USA gained the penalty after Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis grabbed Eduardo Lillingston's right leg in the penalty area on a breakaway, causing Lillingston to fall. Both teams played with 10 men after the Revolution's Edgaras Jankauskas and Chivas USA's Carey Tralley were ejected in the 69th minute. The Revolution played without all-star midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who was suspended after receiving a red card on September 5 against Kansas City.
About the Author This article was sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells MLS tickets, as well as many other kinds of sports tickets, concert tickets, special events tickets and theater tickets.
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