Seemingly against all odds, the Los Angeles Galaxy are still in the chase for a playoff spot. Sunday, they kept the dream alive by holding on to a one-goal advantage for 75 minutes before defeating the Columbus Crew 2-1.
"It's been a game of inches for us all year long and none of the inches have gone our way so far," said Kyle Martino. "To see Troy [Roberts] battle for kind of a hopeless ball, and to get his toe to it and score the kind of goal that we have seen scored on us all year long, kind of pumped us up and made us realize that things were going our way and we just needed to keep pushing, and we didn't let down."
Alejandro Moreno put the Crew ahead after just two minutes. But Roberts managed to get the final touch to a free kick that bounced around the area in the 13th minute to score his first professional goal, then Martino took advantage of a giveaway and scored in the 16th, and the Galaxy held out from there.
"We've talked about mentality, and about winning, and about what it takes to win, and we are doing all the right things right now," said Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop. "We're laying our bodies on the line, and getting back into great positions to defend, and when we get back there we're making great decisions and being tough and strong and brave."
The promise of seeing David Beckham was without a doubt the reason for the season-high attendance Sunday at Crew Stadium. The team's continued success without Beckham has kept them in the hunt for a playoff spot later than many would have thought possible after he went down to a knee injury nearly two months ago.
"If we have a person of David Beckham's ability and we can get him on the field then we're going to get him on the field," said Yallop. "The tough part is all the attention that he brings, which is nobody's fault. But David would add so much to us and he's a great player that we would definitely use at this point, and that would really help us win a lot of games."
The Galaxy have now won three in a row -- after having gone their first 23 games without winning back-to-back games once. Still, they have a long road over their final four games in they are to get back to the MLS Cup Playoffs, beginning with a game at Houston next weekend, the final match in a three-game road swing.
"The way we see it every game is a playoff game for us from here on out, so that is how we are treating it," said Roberts.
The win pulled the Galaxy to within six points of the Chicago Fire for eighth place overall and the final postseason spot. The Galaxy have a game in hand -- and end the regular season with a home game against the Fire at Toyota Park.
"We're excited that we're still in it, but we have a way to go," said Yallop.
Nathan Linton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
