Real Salt Lake-Galaxy Post-Game
RSL 2 Galaxy 2
What to make of this 1-1-5 Galaxy team? They've led for what - all of 52 minutes this season?
Are results like this masking how bad the Galaxy are considering they've won just once this season? Or was it a demonstration of guts and team-building especially now the Galaxy are unbeaten in their last five games and are one of only two MLS teams unbeaten on the road?
Real Salt Lake are just the latest team to collectively scratch their heads.
And so is Mike Magee by the sound of it:
"To only lose one game seven games into the season says a lot about a team, especially with a bunch of new guys. ... Last year we gave away too many games and this year to have only lost one game is huge.If we go down a goal we kind of come together. In the past we've kind of fallen apart. But we've dug ourselves out of a lot of holes and that can't speak enough about our team's chemistry.
All I care about is results. It was 2-2 in Salt Lake - that team hadn't given a point away yet at home. So we walk away with a point, people can criticize all they want about how our team plays, but if we can come away with a draw the joke is on everybody else.
I likened this game to high-stakes poker considering the stoppage time drama; Landon Donovan called it "Russian Roulette."
Whatever. They'd better be careful where they point the gun because it's clear it could go off at any time without any warning.
Contradictions everywhere.
Minimal creativity for much of the game, yet the Galaxy didn't let up to the bitter end either.
Here's Landon Donovan's analysis:
"We kind of put ourselves in a hole and we didn't have a lot of the ball, but we played pretty solidly and we felt pretty good about how we were doing ... I can't imagine many teams would have come back and got something out of that roller coaster ride from tying the game to going down the goal to just having the fortitude to come back and getting something out of the game. We keep saying this comment, but last year we would have lost that game and I'm proud of how we just came back."We haven't lost a game on the road and that's important not only for our psyche, but we've also played three (Western Conference) teams and kept them from getting two more points on the road from us. That's huge. And now we've got to a better job - and we started last week - of winning our games at home, but if we keep playing this way we're going to be in every game we play and we're going to have a chance to win them."
Coach Bruce Arena was more than a little defensive when I observed that generally speaking it was another less than auspicious performance by his team:
"You go on the road, you don't open yourself up. You keep yourself in the game. I don't know if you realize their last game they won 6-0 at home and you find the negatives in a 2-2 game."
Actually, Bruce, I'm trying to be realistic. The margin for error the Galaxy have carved so far is very small. So far, it's working. Barely.
Up next for the Galaxy: the Seattle Sounders and former Coach Sigi Schmid at noon on Sunday. I'll blog from the game as we continue our dash northward.
7 Comments
Leave a comment
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.
Yeah, I'm with you on this one Nick. I was screaming at my TV for 90% of this match, and reading the post-game quotes by Bruce afterward left me with a sick feeling in my stomach. The G's were absolute garbage for most of this game, as they have been for most of the season. A few lucky bounces and penalty kick calls here and there are really masking the fact that this is a bad, bad soccer team.
Arena has done well to improve the defense, I'll give him credit for that, but most of that has to do with the decision to have nine or ten men behind the ball at ALL times. Even after going down a goal, it was maddening to watch the Galaxy pack into their own half time after time. The other thing that drives me nuts is that there is no transition with this team; we can not switch from defense to offense to save our lives. We must have the OLDEST wingers in MLS between Lewis and Klein, and while I still think Lewis can be of some use to the team, having to field Klein on the right wing is a pretty accurate statement on the sad state that this team is in.
While going on the road and taking a point away from a good home team IS something to be proud of, the way that they got that point does not inspire any confidence in me. And the fact that Bruce (presumably) didn't tear into the team following such a sorry performance doesn't sit well with me. Playing absolute sh*te football for 91 minutes and then getting a few lucky bounces is no way to go about building a winning team. Wake up Bruce.
Crazy end to the game.
Nice stadium, decent fans and attendance
I'm probably the only one which is unhappy with the G's, despite them picking up draws, with their dull, predictable, slow and way of play.
Nick replies: I'm with you on that one. At some point, I fear the wheels are going to come off (completely).
No, Nick, Bruce is right. You DO find the negative. Always. And frankly, I'm disappointed and it's a little tiring. But anyway.
I know it's not pretty soccer and the Galaxy definitely need an improvement in midfield. But they're not losing. They're "in" every game and they're being blessed with bounces that go their way - something that hasn't happened for a long time and I'm happy for the team.
I'm afraid I may have to remove this site from my "favorites" list since you just seem to have it in for the Galaxy. You know, some teams are blessed to have a reporter who can be realistic about them, but still you can tell they like the team they're writing about. They're the lucky ones, I guess.
Nick replies: Well, as an English-born soccer fan I'm a natural pessimist. But, so far, fans like you, Bruce and the boys keep proving me (and plenty of other loyal fans out there, check the comments) wrong. And that's fine by me. How long will they keep getting those bounces? The late goals to salvage a draw? I guess that's the fascinating part about this game and watching this team. A question for you: How do you differentiate between realism and "having it in for the Galaxy?"
If you're being realistic about the Galaxy, there are two possible conclusions from your commentary: (1) They are a team capable of playing well, but they are being held back by a conservative coach and a lack of creativity/desire etc by the players, or (2) They are a team with little individual talent and the coach, realizing this, is playing the only way he can to keep them in the game. My sense is that "realism" dictates choosing conclusion #2, which means you have to give Arena some credit even if you think that we could be more fun to watch (i.e., losing 5-3). There is no question that we are just barely being kept in the game and we are the beneficiaries of lucky bounces, but that's just another way of saying if we didn't play conservatively we wouldn't be "in" games so that the lucky bounces would make a difference.
From the optimist point of view, realism will always appear negative.
Let's make no mistake here. This match was downright ugly.
Mishit long balls, horrible/almost non-existent crossing, and wasted free kicks, all coupled with the team's inability to pass through the midfield makes for some bad viewing.
With that said, teams are built from the back and even the hardcore realists out there should be willing to admit that not conceding goals at a 2.5 average per game is an important step in rebuilding this team.
Nick,
While I think you do let your pessimistic side roam free, I also agree that it's probably a cultural trait given your upbringing. I mean, just look at the snarky writing of Grahame Jones.
On the Galaxy, the team is not a top tier MLS team, despite the upgrades to the defense. But it isn't the team from the past two years either. I think Magee and Donovan are right: this team with fight and fight and not go away. They are getting lucky this year where last year they got punished and I think a lot of that has to do with doing the work to set themselves up for success. (Though from where Magee gets a sense of what it was like "last year" I don't know since he was with Red Bull last year, but whatever.)
On the other hand, the lack of a creative spark in midfield coupled with no clear midfield link player between defense and offense means that this team is going to struggle to score goals all season long and I don't even want to contemplate how ugly it will be when Landon is gone for the Gold Cup and Confederations Cup.
I disagree a bit the TJ on Klein - I think he still brings a lot to the table, though it isn't as much as he used to. Lewis, on the other hand, needs to step up. He and Donovan used to have a great understanding but so far this season, the left side of the field hasn't been much more deadly than it was when standouts like Ely Allen and Kyle Martino played there. Overall the level of play on the left is higher, but Lewis is not producing enough dangerous offensive potential.
Having said all that, the team still has some upside. Not much, but some. Buddle and Dunivant still aren't totally game fit and are showing a lot of rust. And Bryan Jordan could become a super sub, if he ever figures out how to trap the ball and finish. And heck, even Magee could figure out how to reach his past potential. It's hard to discount taking points on the road from conference rivals and its hard to discount only losing once in 7 games. This is a major difference between now and the last couple of years.
This team is going to build a reputation as a difficult team to play against. They will be difficult to break down and frustrating to potent offenses. If they can keep it up, by the summer most teams will hate to see the Galaxy on their schedule because they know it will be a game of annoyance and frustration.
On the other hand, they won't have to worry so much about giving up goals.
And, as you say, it would all come crashing down in a great big tour-bus-meet-freight-train clusterf***.
We'll see how they handle their first challenge with a superior MLS side on Sunday.
Seriously man,
you are a So-Cal insider and you are going to alienate your core audience: Galaxy fans. you swear Goat fans read this. That said, as Galaxy fans we aren't looking for a "homer" reporter... just someone who is fair. When i first read your blog it was pretty objective. Now you seem to find something wrong with everything the Galaxy do. Again not looking for roses and rainbows, but what Bruce said is right on, you gotta stop looking for bad things and look for the bright side.