Chivas USA’s concentration was lacking in Wednesday night’s 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps, according to captain Dan Kennedy.
The Goats, led for the first time by new head coach José Luis “Güero” Real, scored early but conceded two goals in stoppage time just before halftime. To that point, the new tactical set-up adopted by Real seemed to be paying early dividends.
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“I think tactically we’re a little bit more positioned and we’re not so hectic,” Kennedy said. “Now it’s a little more calm. Hopefully the transition is smooth. This is a very new group to this league and we’ve had two coaches already in a short period of time. We’re dealing with some transition here and it’s important for us the results don’t weigh us down.”
After winning three of their first five matches, Chivas USA have now dropped eight of their last nine. They have not won an MLS match since March 30, and were outscored 22-4 ever since.
“We can all assume the team has lost confidence with these negative results, like it happens when you lose games,” said Real, who replaced José Luis “El Chelís” Sánchez Solá on May 29. “The club has regained some confidence, but we won’t have it fully until we win.”
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Chivas USA placed only one shot on target Wednesday in their first MLS game without midfielder Eric Avila, who traveled to Mexico with parent club Guadalajara. Next up is Sunday SuperClasico matchup with the LA Galaxy (11 pm ET, UniMas), who they tied 1-1 on March 17.
“We need to continue to find our way,” Kennedy said. “I still believe there’s a lot of positives to take from this game and the run of play. It’s just about us having a quick learning curve with the new coaching staff.”
Blair Angulo covers Chivas USA for MLSsoccer.com.
