For the first seventy-five minutes, we thought we’d had this game all wrong. What looked like a blowout on paper was an even game, with stout defending and goal-keeping holding both sides at bay. Vancouver was pressing, ever pressing, and Los Angeles would absorb the pressure, with only the occasional breaks for a counter, most of which ended in an off-sides position. Joe Cannon and Josh Saunders were simply massive, parrying away everything that came goal-ward. Cellar-dwellars Vancouver were keeping the mighty Galaxy off the score-sheet, playing them level.
Both sides could hold their heads up high. And then, right around the hour mark, Vancouver’s Shea Salinas hit what seemed like his fortieth shot just wide. Saunders sent an outlet pass to Sean Franklin, who lifted a ball over the top of the defense that found Landon Donovan. LD juked his defender out of his cleats and slotted one home as cool as you like. There was nothing Joe Cannon could do. But Vancouver held tough, and in the 73rd minute, Camilo Sanvezzo unleashed a beautiful curling free kick that nearly found the top shelf of the Galaxy goal, before Josh Saunders pushed it over the crossbar.
It was in the 75th minute that things started to go horribly, horribly wrong from a Vancouver point of view. Once Jordan Harvey forgot he wasn’t playing basketball in his own penalty area, giving Baldomero Toledo the honor of giving the least-controversial call of the season, the rout was on. LD blasted the ball past his old friend, and all of a sudden it was 0-2 and late. Vancouver had fought valiantly, but it was over, and you could see it in the home side’s body language.
Sean Franklin would be rewarded for his excellent play of late by Landon Donovan, who found the fullback-cum-winger streaking toward the far post with a screamer of a goal-mouth pass, and Sean pushed the ball home for LA’s third goal in 20 minutes. Ten minutes after that, substitute Adam Cristman (who came on for a scandalously and singularly ineffective Juan Pablo Ángel in the 68th minute) took advantage of some Keystone Kops-esque defending in Vancouver’s 6-yard box, heading a bouncing ball past Cannon for a garbage-time goal. With the Galaxy holding a four-goal lead, the referee didn’t see the point in awarding any second-half stoppage time, invoking soccer’s mercy rule on the hosts. Vancouver had had a lot to be proud of, but the cream of MLS rose to the top.
The Galaxy’s next game is Wednesday at Portland. If they win that game, they will have taken three away points against each Cascadia side. No word on whether the Cascadia Cup would be awarded to Los Angeles in that event.
Galaxy Player Ratings:
Spectacular:
LD – Oh captain, my captain. Two goals and an assist. Did what he’s paid to do. Man of the match, with a gold star.
Saunders – What a game. Several game-changing saves, especially the one in the 73rd minute, which was the difference between a nervy 1-1 and a comfortable 0-2.
Franklin – MLS fullbacks aren’t supposed to be this good, even when they’re slotted on the wing. Beautiful distribution, always in the right place at the right time, and never missed a shift back on D. Earned that shot on goal, and didn’t disappoint.
Great:
Beerholder – In our local code of football, there’s a captain for offense and defense. Gregg Berhalter runs that back line like a boss. Omar, we love you, you’re our future for club and country, but it’s still Beerholder’s back line.
Omar – Nothing got past the big man, looking 31 flavors of intimidating in his facemask. Epitome of bend-but-not-break.
Dunny – I’ll take “Biggest all-star snub that wasn’t talked about” for $800, Alex. This man has been solid all season, and put in another great shift at fullback for the Gs. Good distribution, solid support in the offensive third (mostly covering for JPA, but…), and kept a tight line. This man deserves much more than he’s getting by way of plaudits.
Cristman – Someone’s got to play forward on this team. Adam came in about 68 minutes too late, but he got a poacher’s goal – probably the first of the season by the Galaxy. Hopefully this is the beginning of his form, and we’ll start someone up top that can play.
Good:
Mike Magee – Superman didn’t bring his cape today but he pulled a good shift that was hampered due to a large extent by his having to pick up JPA’s slack.
Mikey Stephens – The kid from Cal-Los Angeles has had a rough last couple of shifts with the senior team, and he’s been second to Birchall in the “who’s filling in for Beckham this week?” pecking order. Got his chance in B.C. and didn’t disappoint.
Juninho – Moments sublime coupled with intervals hilarious. He ran hot and cold all match, but overall we were better for him having been out there. Couple of good long-range looks at goal, too.
Meh
AJDLG – I guess he’s much more comfortable at centerback. Had quite a few giveaways, looked a bit lost in his first game back at fullback.
Incomplete:
Lopez, Keat – Garbage-time substitutes in the 85th, well after the game was in hand.
Waste of perfectly good carbon molecules:
JPA – I don’t know if it’s frustration, loss of pace, trying to measure up to his kid’s video that’s gone viral, or what, but we’d’ve done better playing 11 v 10 out there. So many counter-attacks were killed by his being out of position, giving the ball away cheaply, not anticipating a pass, or being offsides. The sooner we unload his DP contract, the better.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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