Galaxy 0 Seattle Sounders 0
Poetry in Motion: Well, not exactly as Seattle and the Galaxy, familiar foes now, Coach Bruce Arena pointed out, canceled each other out in a mostly tepid 0-0 draw. Above, the Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez out jumps Fredy Montero in the second half of Saturday’s game (Getty Images).
I can’t help but wonder that if late Galaxy GM Doug Hamilton were still in the post he would have fired Coach Bruce Arena by now.
I say that only half in jest because Hamilton famously fired Sigi Schmid in a Manhattan Beach bagel show while the Galaxy sat atop MLS. Why? Hamilton wanted entertaining soccer not carefully calibrated Sigi ball.
Well, the Galaxy are topping MLS and have gone 11 games without a loss. Even if at times it has been bloody boring to watch.
“It doesn’t feel like an 11-game unbeaten streak because we’re not winning as many games as we want to,” David Beckham observed in the locker room.
No, it doesn’t.
It feels like what it is. In the last eight games the Galaxy have a trio of goalless ties and a trio of one-nothing wins.
That little stat neatly sidesteps the 4-1 win over Sporting KC and the 3-1 victory over Colorado, but hey, those games serve to show the Galaxy can fire on all cylinders effectively. Every now and then.
But most games haven’t been a treat for the soccer senses and are unlikely to woo any new fans.
As The Washington Post’s Steven Goff Tweeted tonight, MLS has now had more than 40 percent of games end in ties (64 of 158). Which probably sums up MLS in general: Inconclusive.
So it’s not all the Galaxy’s fault. Nor are they to blame for the fact many teams bunker in at the HDC, wary as they are of Beckham, Donovan and Angel, leading to a tedious cat and mouse game duplicated over and over.
But good teams break down those opponents. And the Galaxy don’t seem to be able to muster the firepower or creativity at the moment.
“The final score was a fair result,” said Arena. “That was a game that was fairly even.”
As in uniformly dull (except you, Brian Perk – thanks).
Phil Collin has the game story.
Arena did his best, however, to enliven a routine evening with some good one-liners:
*On the PK call: “I didn’t see it,” he said. “It was a lousy call. What am I going to say?”
*On the height of 21-year old Brian Perk, who stands 5-11: “He looked like he was tall enough tonight, if not we had (Mike) Magee ready to go.” Magee, who got the shutout last weekend in his starring role in goal, is an inch shorter than Perk.
Watch:
It’s not likely to get much better.
Next for the Galaxy: at home to Chicago (a gruesome team to watch if last weekend’s game against Chivas USA was any indication).
Or, if you prefer, the Galaxy reserves take on their Seattle counterparts at 11 a.m. Tuesday on University Field #1 at the HDC. The game is free and open to the public.
Updated
Forgot to give Perk credit for his own one-liner last night after the game.
When he and reporters were told that the only other MLS goalkeeper to be credited with his first career save while saving a penalty kick was Matt Napoleon in 1998, Perk ad libbed “I hope to be another Matt Napoleon.”
Let’s hope not.
Napoleon played just 14 MLS games over three years with Miami and Columbus between 1998 and 2000.
