Chivas settles for 1-all draw with Red Bulls
By APWednesday, September 30, 2009
Chivas settles for 1-all draw with Red Bulls
CARSON, Calif. — Sacha Kljestan missed a penalty kick in second-half injury time, and Chivas USA settled for a 1-all draw with the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
Chivas (11-9-5) was awarded the penalty kick when Red Bulls defender Andrew Boyens was whistled for a handball in the box by referee Alex Prus. With goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul diving the wrong way, though, Klejstan sent a low shot from the 12-yard spot barely wide of the left post.
The draw left Chivas in a tie with Seattle for fourth in the Western Conference and sixth overall with 38 points. The top two teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs and the teams with the four next highest point totals are awarded wild-card berths.
New York (4-17-6), meanwhile, ran its MLS-record, regular-season road winless streak to 25 matches (0-18-7) since a 2-1 victory at the Home Depot Center over Los Angeles on May 10, 2008.
Chivas controlled the game from the onset as New York failed to create any offensive chances. Still, Chivas did not break down the Red Bulls until the 64th minute, when Kljestan beat Coundoul with a 25-yard shot.
Nine minutes later, Maicon Santos hit the crossbar as Chivas continued to pressure New York’s goal.
The Red Bulls tied the match in the 84th minute, when Sinisa Ubiparipovic sent a well-placed cross into the penalty area to a wide-open Angel in front of the goal. Angel calmly placed a header into the back of the net, easily beating Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton.
The goal was Angel’s 10th of the season and a franchise-record 46th in all competitions.
Story from: STATS LLC, www.stats.com.
