Fri Jun 27 14:10:34 2008

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Chivas hopes for more home success against N.Y.

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Carson, CA (Sports Network) - Chivas USA bounced back from consecutive shutout losses last week and will try to continue its home turnaround against Red Bull New York on Saturday night.

Chivas, which won Major League Soccer's Western Conference last season, is just 4-3 at home this season, but has won three of its last four matches at The Home Depot Center.

Chivas defeated the Chicago Fire, 2-0, last Thursday to snap its two-game slide and move within one game of .500.

"Obviously, a very good result for us, and I thought for the most part of the game we were pretty good," Chivas coach Preki said.

Saturday's game is the third of five straight at home for Chivas, meaning a run could help the club surge to the top of the standings. The Goats are just four points behind the Los Angeles Galaxy entering this weekend.

Midfielder Sacha Kljestan missed a game while with the United States national team but scored the first goal in last week's win over Chicago. With Ante Razov also providing a spark, he assisted on both goals, Chivas is in position to hit its stride.

Considering Maykel Galindo, who led the team with 12 goals last year and Alecko Eskandarian have both missed considerable time with injuries, it's amazing that Chivas has done as well as it has so far.

The latest obstacle is overcoming the loss of midfielder Paulo Nagamura after he got a red card last week. Nagamura has started all 13 of Chivas' games, but will miss Saturday's clash with New York.

New York also ended a two-game skid recently with a 1-0 win over FC Dallas last Saturday. Kevin Goldthwaite scored the lone goal early in the game but had to leave the match with an injury and his availability this week uncertain.

Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio was able to find some consistency last week - using the same lineup in back-to-back games for the first time - but without Juan Pablo Angel (hamstring), Claudio Reyna (back) and Jozy Altidore (transfer to Spain's Villarreal) - the team lacks a difference maker.

"This is a great opportunity for some of the players to say 'I can be a leader on this team' and there were some signs," Osorio said. "I hope they relish that challenge. There's no secrets in football. This is what we have, forget about whoever is not here because we can't count on those players."

Midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic was the most impressive New York player in the win over Dallas, and Osorio said he's one of the players who could step up.

"This is not luck. This is all pure work," Osorio said. "We have been working a lot trying to convince him that when he plays effective football, meaning no back heels, no outside flicks, just play simple football, inside passes, he can compete and play at this level."

New York won the teams' only previous meeting this year, 1-0 at Giants Stadium on June 5. Angel scored the winning goal but he hasn't played since.

The Red Bulls are sixth in the Eastern Conference, but just four points behind second-place Columbus entering the weekend.