Edson Buddle scored two goals in a four-goal burst in 15 minutes in the first half, then completed his hat trick with a late finale as the Los Angeles Galaxy routed FC Dallas 5-1 at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday afternoon.
Buddle scored in the 31st and 39th minutes, each goal following a Chris Klein and an own goal respectively, as the visiting Galaxy opened up a dominant lead before the opening 45 minutes was complete. Dominic Oduro headed one home to pull a goal back for FCD, but Buddle completed his hat trick just minutes after Adrian Serioux was sent off.
Almost from the kickoff, it was the visitors who dominated play. In the fifth minute, L.A. midfielder David Beckham dribbled up the right flank and spotted an open Buddle on the opposite side of the field. Beckham then sent a great cross toward his teammate and Buddle got a shot off only to see it go wide left.
Still, it was FC Dallas that appeared to have taken the lead in the sixth minute. Forward Abe Thompson battled his way to goal before beating Steve Cronin, however the referee's assistant ruled he had fouled an L.A. defender to break free and the goal was disallowed.
Then in the 19th minute, FCD striker Kenny Cooper, who had four shots in the opening frame, took a chance from about 45 yards out. Seeing Cronin somewhat out of position, the Dallas native launched a long bomb but the L.A. 'keeper leapt high to his left to get a hand on the ball and knock it over the crossbar.
In the 25th minute all the Galaxy's hard work paid off as they took the lead. Brandon McDonald had a ton of room to operate in the middle of the field, long enough to spot Klein streaking up the right flank, and the right back finished past Sala for the opening goal.
After a free kick by Beckham in the 27th was headed wide right by Buddle, the Galaxy forward made good on his next chance. He muscled his way through three FCD players to launch one from the top of the restraining arc that beat Sala inside the near post for a 2-0 edge after 31 minutes.
Just two minutes later, the L.A. onslaught continued. Donovan had loads of room on the left flank and was able to send a cross in toward the FCD goal with little resistance. Unfortunately, the ball went off the side of Duilio Davino's right foot and into the back of the net.
In the 39th, Buddle further added to the home side's misery when he put one home from close range. After a corner kick taken by Donovan from the left flag found Alvaro Pires just in front of the goal, he lobbed one over his head that landed just inches from the far post. Buddle ran in and pushed it the final bit over the line.
For FCD, the start was eerily similar to the SuperLiga game played between the two sides on July 31, 2007. In that match, L.A. had a 4-0 lead after just 18 minutes after a pair of goals from Alan Gordon, another from Klein and the final tally of the sequence from Kevin Harmse, a game that eventually ended 6-5 for the Galaxy.
Hoops head coach Steve Morrow rolled out a 3-4-3 formation that featured Arturo Alvarez, Cooper and Thompson up top. The back line of Moor, Davino and Adrian Serioux remained intact while the midfield had a few changes. Anthony Wallace took over on the left with Juan Toja moving inside to replace Marcelo Saragosa.
After the break, Morrow made a pair of changes, bringing on speedy Dominic Oduro for Thompson and taking Wallace off for veteran Bobby Rhine. L.A. head coach Ruud Gullit also made a change at the half, taking off midfielder Joe Franchino for Josh Tudela.
Morrow's changes had the desired effect when the Hoops got a goal back in the 55th minute. Cooper did some nice footwork to the left of the Galaxy goal to work himself free from L.A. defender Abel Xavier, then sent a nice cross into the middle of the box where Oduro was waiting. The Ghanaian striker headed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the year.
Just four minutes later, Buddle made a bid for the hat trick. A pinpoint Beckham cross from the right flank found him in the middle of the FCD penalty area and he put his powerful header on goal, but right at Sala who made the save.
FCD again went close in the 60th minute. Andre Rocha and Cooper hooked up again with Cooper driving toward the far post, but his shot hit the crossbar and sailed out of play.
Then in the 63rd, Toja found himself staring at an empty net after Cronin came off his line in an attempt to close down the threat. With the net open, Toja cut the ball back inside instead of shooting straight for the goal and his right-footed blast at the still-empty net sailed high.
In the 75th minute, the match took an ugly turn. Just in front of the FCD bench, Serioux tackled Beckham hard, which led referee Baldomero Toledo to reach into his back pocket and show the Canadian international a straight red card. As Serioux marched toward the tunnel, Beckham followed for a stretch and then blew him a kiss before he left the field.
Buddle finally completed his triple after another spectacular cross from Beckham. The English international spotted his teammate open on the far side of the field, sent him a great ball and Buddle headed it into the back of the net for his third hat trick, his first since hitting for the trifecta for the MetroStars in a win against Real Salt Lake on Aug. 26, 2006. Buddle once scored four goals in a game for Columbus, Sept. 18, 2004 against the MetroStars.
Both sides will be at home next Saturday. The Galaxy will play host to Kansas City in a 7:30 p.m. PT match at The Home Depot Center that will be televised by HDNet. FCD will play host to Real Salt Lake at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
