Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier today, the MLS brought us a showdown between the NYRB and Chivas USA, which was a match that brought us a very surprising result: 3-2 in favor of the home side Chivas.
The home side played with passion with their give-and-go plays, runs, short/long passing and three clear-cut chances that they were able to put into the back of the net. They are a young bunch with a couple of veterans who all played their part in a good hard fought victory.
The best player was No. 10, Erick Torres who is on loan to USA from Chivas Guadalajara. He netted a brace and dazzled with his speed and footwork to cause NY a lot of problems. At the age of 20, Chivas USA will definitely want to build this team around him if he decides to stay on board beyond his loan spell.
NY were missing their top defender, Jamison Olave, due to a quad injury. His absence was definitely felt as he always seems to manage to clear the danger away and is smart and successful in one v one defending. He is tall, strong, fast and can even score goals to finish off set-pieces or during one of his occasional trips to the opposing third.
Thierry Henry assisted the Dax McCarty header but squandered a brilliantly set up one v one chance from inside the area. As captain, he has to finish those chances or get them on target at the least. He was nowhere near his best in yesterday’s afternoon meeting.
Tim Cahill headed home a goal in the first half to equalize before the NY defense fell apart. He was good as usual with his strong play in the midfield but the rest of his teammates — besides McCarty — was not up to par with his hustle.
NY completely underestimated this team, which is why they were able to move so freely and score some decent goals. These matches are played on fields, not paper. If they want any chance of winning the title this season, they have to be nearly perfect for 90 plus minutes.
