Half Time: Galaxy-Earthquakes
Fluid, creative and dangerous - in short all the things the Galaxy weren't last weekend - were hallmarks of the L.A. offense in the first half, yielding two goals without reply.
And it could have been more.
With Ely Allen proving a handful up the left flank, the Earthquakes defense has showed it can't handle the Galaxy's speed and anticipation so far.
After a shaky start that saw an Earthquakes goal disallowed after just two minutes (presumably for offside), the first goal came just seven minutes later.
A Ryan Cochrane error was seized upon by Landon Donovan who delivered a pass David Beckham side-footed into the net.
The second came eight minutes before half time when Alan Gordon fed Beckham, who slipped a wonderfully weighted pass to Donovan who beat Joe Cannon to the ball for the goal.
The Galaxy could have had a third just before the break when Alvaro Pires missed from point blank range from a Beckham free kick.
Overall, this was a completely different Galaxy team from the one we saw in Colorado with L.A. out-shooting the Earthquakes 11-2.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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