For the second successive game in SuperLiga, the Los Angeles Galaxy started flat, allowing their opposition to take the game to them. Unlike the first match though, their slow start cost them a positive result Saturday, falling out of first place in Group A following a 2-1 loss to Chivas de Guadalajara at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The Galaxy had been building some positive momentum heading into the game against the Mexican giant. A week ago, the Galaxy held Chelsea FC to one goal, and despite losing, showed promise. Then in their opening Superliga game against Pachuca on Tuesday, the Galaxy were again outplayed for stretches, but gutted out a 2-1 win.
On Saturday night, however, the Galaxy never looked in the game, until they had already fallen behind, and didn't score until the closing minutes when the final result had already been decided. Chivas outshot the Galaxy 17-8 and controlled the run of play throughout the match. While Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop wouldn't admit that his side took a step backwards, it certainly wasn't a step in the right direction.
"I wouldn't say it's a step back. I think we're even. I think at least we didn't play terribly all game. That would not be good," said Yallop. "We had chances to score, so there are some positives in that. But I agree, coming out flat again was difficult to take."
That was the prevailing theme coming out of the locker room following the game. The Galaxy have been preaching trying to start quickly, but again, like against Pachuca, they allowed Chivas to dictate the pace and style of the game.
"We let (Chivas) have the run of possession, especially in the first half. I felt with the game against Pachuca we were fortunate to get that first goal and I think that was the difference," said Joe Cannon, who made seven saves for the Galaxy on the night. "We just kept being Chivas' punching bag and they finally got one. The first 45 minutes of this game set the tone."
Landon Donovan, who scored the lone goal for the Galaxy late in the game, was equally disappointed in his side's performance.
"Obviously we're disappointed in the way we played. I was actually happy that we sorted out tactically a little bit how to play against them," said Donovan. "With the ball we were awful. If you keep giving the ball away and you're defending over 90 minutes against that team, you're going to lose."
Los Angeles did manage to go into the locker rooms level at 0-0, despite registering only one shot in the entire half. But as the second half wore on and both coaches started going to their bench, the quality of Chivas began to shine through. The depth ultimately spelled the difference on the night as Mexican international Omar Bravo came off the bench to score what eventually became the game-winner.
"(Chivas) has great depth. I've said it all along, our problem with U.S. teams is our depth is sometimes difficult to get because of our 18-man roster and because of salaries," said Yallop. "They've got some real quality all over their squad and I think it showed tonight."
The Galaxy's depth was stretched even thinner before the game had even started. David Beckham was ruled out of the game on Friday, still recovering from an ankle injury. Regular starter Kyle Martino was also scratched because of a groin injury that he aggravated on Tuesday against Pachuca.
Still, the performance by the starting 11 left something to be desired. So much so that Yallop was prompted to make a tactical change in the first half, bringing on Pete Vagenas for Alan Gordon.
"Possession is the name of the game and we knew that was something (Chivas) likes to do. We didn't do a well enough job when we got the job to possess it," said Vagenas. "Technically they were better tonight. It's not a performance that we would like to have again."
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
