Galaxy Chop Down Timbers

You know how your mom always told you that you could do anything if you applied yourself? Well, tonight the Galaxy applied itself all over a game Portland Timbers side. Your final: 3-0, and it wasn’t even really that close.

Landon Donovan’s ability to raise his teammates’ performance is legendary, and tonight he gave us another example of just what a quality player he is. He was involved in all three goals, sparked half a dozen dangerous counter-attacks, and offered some jaw-dropping distribution and runs into space. There wasn’t a hint of a gimpy knee, and his subbing out in the 74th minute was more a valedictory than anything else, as he looked as if he could play a double-header.

Getting Juninho and David Beckham back from suspensions was also key, as our first-string central midfield was in perfect harmony all night, both with each other and with the other mids and forwards. The passing all night was silky, precise Jogo Bonito stuff that had the Portland defense mesmerized most of the evening.

The defense was a bit off. Even though it was AJ DeLaGarza that was the new starter, it was Sean Franklin who was playing like a man who’d missed a memo or two. Frequently out of position, often playing right midfielder instead of right back, he looked a little lost out there. Kenny Cooper exploited that side a couple of times, testing Donovan Ricketts severely, but without getting past the Jamaican goalkeeper who was very, very much on his game Saturday. The Other Donovan needed three high-quality saves to preserve the shutout and get some free Pollo Campero for the fans in attendance. I hope someone gives Cooper a piece. And a hug – dude looked quite dejected by the end.

The forwards didn’t look bad at all. They got quality service, and when they used it correctly, they used it quite effectively. Chad Barrett’s goal was a thing of beauty; the kind of shot that gets the forwards the big bucks. Had he kept up that level of play, we might have had another goal or two. Alas, he was infected with One-too-many-touch-itis after the goal, and killed a couple of quality possessions. Juan Pablo Àngel’s pass to LD was at a weird angle, through traffic, and right on the money. Miguel Lopez continues to make his case for more playing time – why he was subbed out for JPA at the half instead of Magee I’ll never know. He has the passing instinct of a midfielder and a nose for goal, and might be our most important pickup of the off-season.

The scoring opened up in the 4th minute. After some slick passing out of the back, Bex leaves the ball off for LD right between the circles. LD one-times it right in the path of a streaking Chad Barrett, who takes the ball off his shoulder, onto his boot, and into the back of the net. We kept that level of intensity up for the next four minutes, until a lovely through-ball to LD at the top of the box gets Rodney Wallace to gang-tackle LD inside the area. Ref points to the spot, and it’s 2-0 Galaxy, 8 minutes in.

You really felt the scoring wasn’t over, as LA had all of the possession in the first half. It took 13 minutes for the Timbers to get their first kind of dangerous possession, 16 minutes for them to record their first shot on goal, and only 29 minutes before the Angel City Brigade was heard singing “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” at the Portland fans who made the trip down the 5. There was no more scoring to be had in the half, but Portland nearly got close, with Jack Jewsbury, who was spectacular with his free kicks all night, putting one of them right on Mamadou Danso’s head, forcing the first of Donovan’s three saves in the 31st.

Then in the second half, Portland found some momentum, possession, and tenacity. They dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half, reducing the Galaxy to a series of counter-attacks, and testing Franklin and Todd Dunivant, our two outside backs. But in the 66th minute, second half sub JPA chases one of those counters down to the end line, slots it pitch-perfect back to LD 10 yards from goal, who then banks it off the ground with his head and into the back of the net. That was the captain’s second of the night, breaking a 700+ minute goalless streak.

You could tell it just wasn’t going to be Portland’s night. In the 71st and 80th minutes Kenny Cooper had really lovely shots on goal that took every inch of Donovan Ricketts’s reach to stop. Any time a team is clicking the way the Galaxy was clicking tonight, and their goalkeeper’s standing on his head, too, it’s going to be a long, long night for their competition. And so it was for Portland. A quality team that was simply overmatched on the night.

Player Ratings:

Awesome: LD (MOTM)

Really Good: Crowd, Lopez, The Other Donovan, Juninho, Omar

Good: Dunny

A Lot Better than expected: Bex, Barrett, JPA, Ref

Meh: Mikey Stephens, AJDLG

Oh Dear: Magee, Franklin

(image courtesy of Getty Images)