Erick Torres strike edges Chivas USA past San Jose Earthquakes

Jul 3, 2014 at 3.30am UK

FT(HT: 0-0)

Erick Torres scores the winner as Chivas USA beats San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in the battle between the two bottom sides in the Western Conference.

Published: July 3 2014 | 05:37

Last updated: July 3 2014 | 18:37

Erick Torres scored the only goal of the game as Chivas USA picked up a crucial 1-0 win over fellow Western Conference strugglers the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Chivas started the match strongly, and came agonisingly close to opening the scoring inside the first minute when Torres collected an inch-perfect pass from Eric Avila before firing just wide of the target.

San Jose improved as the first half progressed in Santa Clara, but it was Chivas who created the best chance before the break as Ryan Finley finished a fluent passing move by seeing a low strike tipped wide by Jon Busch.

Dan Kennedy was forced into action just five minutes prior to the interval when Steven Lenhart's towering header threatened to creep into the top corner.

It took just eight minutes for Chivas to break the deadlock in the second half thanks to Torres, who took full advantage of two unsuccessful clearances in the box to slot the ball past Busch.

San Jose dominated possession after falling behind, but the hosts found it difficult to create openings as Chivas held firm at the back.

Kennedy made one final vital contribution for the visitors to keep out Ty Harden's powerful header in the closing stages of an important win for Chivas.

Share this article now:

Eastern Conference

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Inter Miami Inter Miami	34	22	8	4	79	49	30	74
2	Columbus Crew	34	19	9	6	72	40	32	66
3	FC Cincinnati Cincinnati	34	18	5	11	58	48	10	59
4	Orlando City	34	15	7	12	59	50	9	52
5	Charlotte FC Charlotte FC	34	14	9	11	46	37	9	51
6	New York City FC NY City	34	14	8	12	54	49	5	50
7	New York Red Bulls NY Red Bulls	34	11	14	9	55	50	5	47
8	CF Montreal Montreal	34	11	10	13	48	64	-16	43
9	Atlanta United Atlanta	34	10	10	14	46	49	-3	40
10	DC United	34	10	10	14	52	70	-18	40
11	Philadelphia Union Philadelphia	34	9	10	15	62	55	7	37
12	Toronto	34	11	4	19	40	61	-21	37
13	Nashville SC Nashville	34	9	9	16	38	54	-16	36
14	New England Revolution New England	34	9	4	21	37	74	-37	31
15	Chicago Fire	34	7	9	18	40	62	-22	30

Western Conference

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Los Angeles FC Los Angeles	34	19	7	8	63	43	20	64
2	Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy	34	19	7	8	69	50	19	64
3	Real Salt Lake Salt Lake	34	16	11	7	65	48	17	59
4	Seattle Sounders Seattle	34	16	9	9	51	35	16	57
5	Houston Dynamo Houston	34	15	9	10	47	39	8	54
6	Minnesota United Minnesota Utd	34	15	7	12	58	49	9	52
7	Colorado Rapids Colorado	34	15	5	14	61	60	1	50
8	Portland Timbers Portland	34	12	11	11	65	56	9	47
9	Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver	34	13	8	13	52	49	3	47
10	Austin FC Austin	34	11	9	14	39	48	-9	42
11	Dallas	34	11	8	15	54	56	-2	41
12	St Louis City	34	8	13	13	50	63	-13	37
13	Sporting Kansas City Kansas	34	8	7	19	51	66	-15	31
14	San Jose Earthquakes Earthquakes	34	6	3	25	41	78	-37	21