Galaxy 3 Vancouver Whitecaps 0

Classy Keane: Robbie Keane salutes a fellow Irishman who lost his life in Poland at Euro 2012 after scoring against Vancouver Saturday at Home Depot Center (Photo by Robert Mora, courtesy LA Galaxy).

Said Robbie Keane after the game to reporters:

“It was for a young fan who went to Poland , 21 years of age, he drowned. It was very, very sad. I called his father today to send my condolences, send my thoughts to him and his family. Irish people are very close and stick to each other through good times and bad times. He was a big soccer fan and it was a shame, it was just a bit of respect really. I may give (the) shirt to his father, if he wants it.”

Onto the game:

Last Saturday the Galaxy sat dead last in the Western Conference with 11 points from 13 games.

Today they have picked up almost as many points — nine — in the past seven days as they did over the last three months and are just five points behind Seattle, in fifth place in the conference.

“We could have gotten more goals, but I don’t want to be greedy, at this point,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “I think we are slowly becoming a good team. And, I think that inside our locker room we understand what it takes to become a good team. It was an important week for us. We are back in playoff contention. And, there are going to be a lot of difficult games ahead. Next week, we play, probably, the best team in the league right now in San Jose . We have a lot ahead. Hopefully, our guys have learned a lot in the first 16 games. We’ve learned enough to get us through the next 18.”

Staff Writer Phil Collin has the game story.

Next: at San Jose Earthquakes Saturday.

Watch:

Here’s the Whitecaps’ view of the game: