last a crushing home loss to Real Salt Lake at midweek -- the Rapids also came in needing a victory. The Galaxy hadn't lost in seven games and just twice since Frank Yallop took over as head coach in early June.
But after Joe Cannon saved from Quavas Kirk from a tight angle, the Rapids took the lead just before the break. Intercepting a pass in the Galaxy defensive third, Thiago Martins sent Kyle Beckerman racing into the area, and he cut a rolling pass across the face of goal where Nicolas Hernandez came racing on to pound it into the open net (41).
The Galaxy nearly found the equalizer with almost the last kick of the game, but Cannon got down to hold a Landon Donovan shot from close range from a goalmouth scramble. The loss left the defending MLS Cup champion seven points out of the last playoff spot in the West, with 10 games remaining.
Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop made one change to the team that defeated Houston Dynamo 1-0 at midweek at Robertson Stadium. Cobi Jones made his first start since May 20, coming in on the left of midfield for Josh Gardner.
Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Chris Albright, Ugo Ihemelu, Troy Roberts, Ante Jazic - Quavas Kirk (Alan Gordon 71), Paulo Nagamura, Peter Vagenas, Cobi Jones (Kyle Martino 63) - Landon Donovan, Herculez Gomez (Santino Quaranta 57). [Substitutes Not Used: Steve Cronin, Josh Gardner, Kyle Veris, John Wolyniec]
"We are obviously disappointed with the result of the match. But we have had a great run so I can't really complain about the last seven or eight games," Yallop said. "We were a little flat and a little tired tonight. Maybe we didn't play our best stuff but I thought it was an even game. I think a nil-nil would probably have been a fair result."
TEAM NEWS
The Galaxy's last loss had come June 17, a 2-1 reversal by New York Red Bulls. "We looked shaky from the start. We didn't seem as sure of ourselves and we looked tentative in our play all over the field. I don't think anyone was worse than anyone else. We are all in it together anyway so, for me, we weren't good enough tonight to get a result," Yallop said. "... We struggled a little bit tonight. We put a lot into that Houston game. We came out flat, took the goal and couldn't get back into the game."
While the addition of Yallop as head coach has meant a turnaround in the standings, the Galaxy are still struggling scoring goals. Since scoring three goals in a victory against Real Salt Lake on April 29 (which then preceded the 525-minute scoreless streak), the Galaxy have scored multiple goals in a game just twice. They've been shut out eight times in the 17 games since.
"We have to look at where we are failing. We aren't creating enough chances so we have to look at that side of things. We have to make sure we can get more people into the attack to create chances," Yallop said. "I think that is what we are lacking. It doesn't just come from the players up front. It comes from our general play to get to those areas."
Still, over the last eight games, the Galaxy have allowed just two goals. The loss to the Rapids was just the second in all competitions since Yallop took over.
"We were pretty poor the first half. We played better the second half but we made the mistake that changed the game. Maybe a tie was a fair result but they capitalized on one mistake and that was it," Landon Donovan said. "We had some decent changes to score but nothing great. We did a better job as the game went on. I think the guys who came in did a good job of providing, but we have to do better. We have to get more of those half chances if we expect to score more goals."
Even with just one match - the Open Cup fourth-round match against Roma FC - in the nearly three weeks between league matches, the Galaxy struggled in their second road match in four days.
"I think that sometimes, that is the way it goes, especially in this game. We came off the long week and a draining game Wednesday night. It's tough to put it together," said Peter Vagenas. "Give credit to our guys. As the game went on we got a lot stronger. It was more a mental thing than a physical thing because otherwise it would have been the opposite. I thought we did better toward the end. I'm sure there was some fatigue involved but it was more of a mental thing.
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas saw their four-game league winning streak come to a crashing halt, losing 1-0 to Houston Dynamo last Saturday evening at Robertson Stadium and in the process losing their claim to "El Capitan" in the inaugural season series between the Texas rivals. The Hoops still lead the Western Conference with 39 points from 21 matches, now just four points ahead of Dynamo, and seven points behind D.C. United in the chase for the Supporters' Shield.
LAST MATCH
Dynamo came in desperate for the full three points after a midweek loss to the Galaxy when Santino Quaranta's goal in his Los Angeles debut provided the difference. Dynamo hadn't won in four games, while for FC Dallas, it was their first game since the All-Star break, into which they rolled riding a four-game winning streak.
The game's only goal came late in the first half, after a fine Dario Sala save on Alejandro Moreno forced a corner kick. On the restart, Dynamo defender Craig Waibel shrugged off his marker at the back post to rise up for a clear header that he hammered down off the line and past Sala into the goal (37).
FC Dallas narrowly missed pulling level on two occasions after the break. Ramon Nunez stepped up to a free kick nearly straight out from goal, and whipped it around the wall -- only for it to squarely hit the right-hand post. Later, Greg Vanney stepped up to a another free kick from nearly the same position, and he took the approach of driving it low through the barrier. It sailed through - but Moreno was perfectly positioned on the line to clear it and preserve the victory.
FC Dallas head coach Colin Clarke made three changes to the team that defeated the Colorado Rapids 4-1 in their last league match, on July 29. Greg Vanney returned to central defense, coming back in for Clarence Goodson. Ronnie O'Brien also returned after missing three league games, coming in for Arturo Alvarez, while Marcelo Saragosa made his first MLS start for FC Dallas, coming in for Abe Thompson.
Here's Clarke's team (4-1-4-1): Dario Sala - Bobby Rhine, Drew Moor, Greg Vanney, Chris Gbandi (Abe Thompson 84) - Simo Valakari (Carlos Ruiz 64) - Ronnie O'Brien, Richard Mulrooney, Marcelo Saragosa (Arturo Alvarez 83), Ramon Nunez - Kenny Cooper. [Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Clarence Goodson, Aaron Pitchkolan, David Wagenfuhr]
"In the first half, we didn't do very well. In the second half we did pretty well," Clarke said. "We had some good free kicks, but it just wouldn't go for us today. We had a lot of bad luck and it went Houston's way today."
TEAM NEWS
The dominance Houston showed in the first half could have resulted in a lopsided loss for the Hoops, but they battled back and nearly tied the match in the second half. Greg Vanney and Ramon Nunez had promising chances, but Nunez was denied by the post and Vanney had his freekick cleared off the line by Alejandro Moreno.
"It was a tale of two halves. I thought we pressured them pretty good the second half and had some possession but hit a couple posts and had one cleared off the line," said Richard Mulrooney. "But give them all the credit -- they took it to us."
The Hoops really started to look dangerous when Carlos Ruiz entered the match in the 64th minute. Ruiz had missed the past three league games with a hamstring injury.
"Positive definitely -- I think that last 30 minutes (for Ruiz) will turn into 90 next week and so on and so forth," said Mulrooney. "So to keep him healthy is a positive and especially with this last stretch of winning four or five straight games without him was good, but it finally caught up with us tonight. But with nine or 10 games left in the season I think we'll be all right."
The loss in Houston was the first of a five-game league road stretch for the Hoops - a stretch that will be at least six with the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal on Aug. 23 at Houston.
"We just had a four-game win streak snapped and before that, had a three-game losing streak," said veteran midfielder Richard Mulrooney. "I think the main thing is that we would like to go back on a win streak. I'm not too concerned because I think we can learn from our mistakes (against Houston) and go forward. ... L.A. is a tough place and our record there the last few years hasn't been great. This game is the hardest for us in the season coming off the Houston loss. I don't even know who we have after that and it doesn't matter. We just need to focus on Sunday's game."
