Gamethread: Chivas USA vs. Club Tijuana, 2/22/12

Dan Kennedy, James Riley, John Valencia, Heath Pearce, Ante Jazic; Michael Lahoud, Oswaldo Minda, Nick LaBrocca, Ryan Smith; Miller Bolanos, Juan Pablo Angel

Patrick McLain; David Junior Lopes, Rauwshan McKenzie, Alejandro Moreno, Ben Zemanski, Cesar Romero, Casey Townsend

7th minute: back and forth action so far, no scoring chances.

I’m glad we got Romero signed heard good comments about him.

15th minute: shot from outside the box is way over the bar and no threat for Kennedy. 0-0

22nd minute: MInda gets a Yellow for a late tackle next to the sideline, and a (presumably Xolos) fan throws a full cup at him. 0-0

27th minute: Chivas let Mauro Gerk through on a failed offside trap, then nearly let him score, only Kennedy and Gerk went to the same spot and Gerk couldn’t get a shot off. It was very nearly a costly team error, but still 0-0.

27th: LaBrocca gets a Yellow for a high challenge. 0-0

32nd minute: Smith hits an angled shot from distance, but it is weak and TJ’s GK stops it easily. 0-0

A couple of half-chances by Chivas leads to a rebound and quick shot by Bolanos, but he is on the wrong side of the post. 0-0

What side has most of the possession?

35th: Bolanos gets a YC on what looked like a follow-through by the Xolos player, not a foul. 0-0

36th minute: Ryan Smith makes an excellent run from the right wing all the way into the box, then crosses neatly for Lahoud. 1-0.

38th minute: Kennedy makes an easy save on a set piece. 1-0 Chivas

Jazic receives a rough tackle and stays down. Ref allows TJ to play on, and Ryan Smith complains enough that he gets a Yellow, presumably for dissent. 1-0

45th minute +: JPA gets the ball off a goal kick, heads for goal, but his shot is wide to the far post. A decent chance but he needed to be closer to goal there. 1-0

1st half injury time: Jazic fouls just outside the box, it was rough and he gets a Yellow for his trouble. 1-0

Dan Kennedy makes a big save at the very end of the half, and Chivas head into the break with a 1 goal lead off Lahoud’s effort. A sloppy half in many respects for the Goats defensively, but the goal was really nice.

Xolos: 1 yellow card

Chivas USA: 5 yellow cards. A couple were granted, as Chivas have been rather sloppy on many fouls, but a few were harsh to unbelievable.

The crowd is heavily pro-Xolos, but I swear to you, the Chivas fans were much louder, singing the entire half, while the Xolos fans mostly sang when a video camera was recording them (no joke). The fans who are from San Diego and who made the trip South are doing a great job tonight.

Let’s see if Chivas can maintain their lead for another 45 minutes. 1-0

48th: Lahoud tests his luck with a shot from distance, and it sails well over the goal. Can’t blame him for it I suppose. 1-0

Chivas had a good run up, but the effort is deflected out of play. 1-0

50th: Bolanos gets a second yellow card on a tackle, and he’s sent off. Considering the pace of the yellows for Chivas, it seemed like a matter of time unfortunately. 1-0

57th minute: Tijuana equalizes on a corner kick. 1-1

60th: Ryan Smtih looks dangerous running with the ball, but he couldn’t get such a good chance this time around. 1-1

61st minute: Xolos have good build up, but a Goat (LaBrocca, I believe) makes a sliding clearance in the box to temporarily get Chivas out of danger. 1-1

64th minute: A confusing play as Kennedy attempted to save the ball, but the linesman awarded the goal. Chivas players argue with him, and are subsequently pelted with drinks by the crowd. 2-1 Xolos

70th: Moreno in for Smith, Romero in for Lahoud, and Townsend in for Angel.

75th: Moreno tries to draw a foul right in front of the box, but the ref waves play on. 2-1

He gets in a tussle with a TJ player. Nice to see some intensity from the rookie. 2-1 76th minute

77th: on the second of two free kicks for Chivas, Heath Pearce hits the attempt straight into the TJ keepers’ hands. 2-1

A good run from Romero, who gets it to LaBrocca before he makes a quick flick to Townsend. His shot is a slow roller and is saved easily. 2-1

A good run from Romero, who gets it to LaBrocca before he makes a quick flick to Townsend. His shot is a slow roller and is saved easily. 2-1

79th minute: good build up by Tijuana and an emphatic finish. Now 3-1, and the comeback is looking tougher and tougher

82nd: Tijuana awarded a penalty for a foul in the box. Attempt is converted, just past Kennedy on his left. 4-1 Xolos

85th: Minda had kind of a rough night, but he got called twice VERY late for infractions. 4-1 Xolos

88th: Townsend gets the goal off a corner kick, his second of the preseason. Nice way to end the night on a slightly better note. 4-2 Xolos

90th: Pearce gets robbed of the ball by Enriquez, and he finishes easily. 5-3 Xolos

A shaky if decent first half followed by a nightmare of a second half for the Goats. But goals by Michael Lahoud and Casey Townsend the bright spot on the night. A match report will be up tonight or tomorrow with further reflections.

Really appreciate your following the stream tonight. Not the result we were looking for, obviously, but I hope this helped keep you updated on the game. Twitter became wonky during the second half for me, so hopefully you kept up on the details here.

And let’s do this again during the regular season. Especially for away matches where we’re watching on TV!