LOS ANGELES GALAXY vs. HOUSTON DYNAMO
THE HOME DEPOT CENTER, Carson, Calif.
April 19, 2008 | 10:30 p.m. ET (FSN-W/Ch. 55/Ch. 43)
WEEK # 4 | GAME # 26
Two teams looking for a victory to jumpstart their seasons meet at The Home Depot Center as the Los Angeles Galaxy take on the Houston Dynamo. The Galaxy are playing the third game of a four-game homestand, having split the first two after a late loss to Toronto FC last weekend. The defending MLS Cup champion Dynamo come into the match still looking for their first league victory of the season, with a pair of draws their last two times out.
REFEREE: Mark Geiger. SAR (bench): Thomas Supple; JAR (opposite): Corey Rockwell; 4th: Kevin Stott
MLS Career: 34 games; FC/gm: 31.7; Y/gm: 4.1; R: 6; pens: 13
INJURY REPORT: LOS ANGELES GALAXY - OUT: GK Charles Alamo (R knee surgery); DF Ante Jazic (R ankle surgery); FW Carlos Ruiz (R knee) ... HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: MF Mike Chabala (L foot fracture); DF Craig Waibel (R hamstring strain); GK Pat Onstad (R shoulder sprain); DOUBTFUL: FW Johnny Alcaraz (L ankle sprain); DF Eddie Robinson (L knee bone bruise/swelling)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: HOU: DF Eddie Robinson (through May 3)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (7 meetings): Galaxy 2 wins, 6 goals ... Dynamo 3 wins, 8 goals ... Ties 2
AT LOS ANGELES: (3 meeting): Galaxy 0 wins, 2 goals ... Dynamo 2 wins, 5 goals ... Ties 1
• This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season, the only one at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy will make their lone trip to the Space City when the teams meet at Robertson Stadium on Oct. 18.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
4/8: HOU 0, LA 0
9/16: LA 1, HOU 3 (Gordon 26 - Cochrane 21; De Rosario 47; Clark 73)
10/7: HOU 1, LA 2 (Jaqua 21 - Pavon 45; Glinton 77)
• The teams split their three meetings a season ago, playing to a scoreless draw to kick off the campaign, then each winning on the other's home ground.
• The Galaxy have never defeated the Dynamo in a league game at The Home Depot Center. After playing to a scoreless in Houston's first-ever trip there, the Orange have come away with victories in their last two trips to Carson.
• But the Galaxy have come away with points from their last three trips to Houston - a 1-0 result before a crowd of 70,550 at Reliant Stadium (fifth-largest for a regular season game in league history) on Aug. 9, 2006 coming before last year's results.
• The only team the home team has won in the series came in the first matchup ever, a 2-1 Dynamo win on June 3, 2006 at Robertson Stadium. The Galaxy did win in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal at The Home Depot Center in 2006.
• Coaches record: Ruud Gullit vs. HOU: first game ... Dominic Kinnear v LA: P15 W7 L5 D3
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
The LA Galaxy lost for the second time in three games on the young season, their first at home, as Toronto FC got a late game-winner for 3-2 victory Sunday afternoon at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy have three points from their first three matches, fifth place in the Western Conference, a point behind Real Salt Lake and three behind the Colorado Rapids.
LAST MATCH
• The LA Galaxy were home for the second of four matches in a row after winning for the first time the week before against San Jose. Toronto FC were concluding a three-game road swing to open the campaign, after losses in Columbus and at D.C. United.
• Danny Dichio put TFC into the lead in the 42nd minute. Amado Guevara looped the ball into the Galaxy penalty area, and after a missed clearance, Dichio turned and drove the ball inside the far post.
• But it took barely a minute for the Galaxy to respond. Chris Klein picked out Landon Donovan with a long pass, he juked around a TFC defender and hit a low drive past TFC 'keeper Greg Sutton for the equalizer.
• Yet the Reds moved back in front again in the 53rd minute. Laurent Robert hit a piledriver of a freekick directly on goal that Galaxy 'keeper Steve Cronin could only parry, and Jarrod Smith was quickest to the rebound and headed home.
• It took just five minutes for the Galaxy to respond again. This time a cross was played in from the right and Marco Velez slipped and fell while trying to clear, and referee Alex Prus ruled the TFC defender handled the ball as he fell on the ball. Donovan drove the ball past Sutton to level terms again.
• But two minutes from the end Toronto FC took a lead they did not give up. A long ball from Robert was claimed by Jeff Cunningham in a one-on-one battle with Galaxy defender Greg Vanney, and the veteran striker ripped a low drive from outside the area that found the back of the net and gave TFC the win.
• Galaxy boss Ruud Gullit made no changes to the team that knocked off the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 nine days earlier for the first win of the season.
• Here's Gullit's team (4-4-2): Steve Cronin - Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Greg Vanney, Mike Randolph - David Beckham, Alvaro Pires, Brandon McDonald (Peter Vagenas 77), Ely Allen - Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon (Edson Buddle 68). Substitutes Not Used: Michael Gavin, Troy Roberts, Josh Tudela, Josh Wicks, Abel Xavier
• "I'm disappointed because we played so well. Sometimes football is unfair. They had three chances and they scored three," said Gullit. "It's a law in football if you don't convert the possibilities you have then the opposition feels like they can sniff something. That's the consequence of not being able to bury this game early."
TEAM NEWS
• The Galaxy easily could have been ahead 3-0 going into the halftime break, but instead, the game was tied at 1-1 and Toronto never trailed. Donovan also missed three one-on-one chances with TFC goalkeeper Greg Sutton in the first half.
• "I'm obviously disappointed. I'm disappointed in myself, having three chances like that can change the game," said Donovan. "We did well to get back in it twice. Then I think we were a little naïve in the end. We probably should have just settled and gotten out of here with a point."
• After working on their shape and possession following the loss in Colorado, the Galaxy felt they took a step backward, especially in the second half, against Toronto.
• "It was the same for both teams. It was extremely hot out there," said David Beckham. "When you don't keep the ball well and you don't pass the ball well it brings all sorts of problems. We lost our shape in the second half, partially through some of it the heat, but the majority of it from giving the ball away."
• Still, the Galaxy came away with two goals for the second consecutive match - and could have come away with more.
• "That's what it's all about. Creating chances and having the confidence of finishing them off. As long as I'm creating chances and Ely [Allen] on the left is creating chances, at some point we are going to score," said Beckham. "It's about putting the goals away, and hopefully that will start soon. We still created a lot of chances today. Landon got two. It just wasn't enough in the end."
• Losing shape also put the Galaxy at risk for some defensive breakdowns, allowing three goals to a team that had scored just one in its first two.
• "If you see how the game developed, you don't talk about defense, because we were playing well. They had one chance, we made a mistake, and immediately it was a goal," said Gullit. "It's frustrating. It was unnecessary. All three goals were unnecessary goals. That makes it hard to accept, especially because you were so much better."
• Gullit maintained the same lineup, meaning Sean Franklin kept his place in central defense ahead of Abel Xavier, who was suspended for the San Jose match. "I think that Sean played well today also. He wasn't involved in any of the balls that resulted in goals. He did his job," Gullit said. "If we scored all the possibilities we had, we wouldn't even be talking about this. The goals that we gave away were incredibly sloppy."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo are still looking for their first victory of the season, getting a tie for the second successive week, this time a scoreless draw with the Kansas City Wizards on the road on Saturday evening. The Dynamo have two points from their opening three matches, sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference, four points off the pace of the division-leading Colorado Rapids.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards were playing their final home game for two months, with two wins and a loss thus far in their season-opening homestand, while Houston Dynamo were looking for a first league win of the season after being eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions' Cup at midweek with a 3-0 loss to Deportivo Saprissa in Costa Rica.
• There were no goals on the night, but goalkeeper Kevin Hartman of Kansas City and Houston's Tony Caig were called upon for their share of heroics.
• The closest either team came was early in the second half when Brad Davis was sent through by Dynamo playmaker Dwayne De Rosario. Hartman's could only turn Davis' blast onto his own post, but was able to scramble back and smother the rebound.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made four changes to his team from the one that played to a 3-3 draw against FC Dallas after the midweek trip to Costa Rica. Tony Caig was still in goal for the injured Pat Onstad, while Ricardo Clark made his return to the Dynamo lineup after finishing out his league suspension. Brian Mullan and Brad Davis also reclaimed their spots in the midfield, as Craig Waibel was injured and Corey Ashe and Geoff Cameron returned to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Tony Caig - Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Geoff Cameron 72) - Dwayne De Rosario - Franco Caraccio (Stuart Holden 71), Brian Ching. Substitutes Not Used: Corey Ashe, Kyle Brown, Chris Wondolowski, Patrick Ianni, Corbin Waller
• "We attacked well tonight. We created some good chances, We got some good looks, obviously Kevin (Hartman) makes a good save," Kinnear said. "I think we had enough chances to bag ourselves a goal."
TEAM NEWS
• For the Dynamo, it was already their third scoreless draw of the season in all competitions. They played to goalless results in each round of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, on the road at CSD Municipal in the quarterfinals, and at home against Deportivo Saprissa in the semifinals.
• "It happens. We've had a couple of those already this season," Kinnear said. "The game against Saprissa at home, we had a lot of chances. Sometimes they fall, sometimes they don't."
• In seven games in all competitions in 2008, the Dynamo have been shutout in five. In the other two, they scored three goals in each.
• "I thought we probably had more chances than they did. We needed to be a little bit more clinical in front of the goal and we could have come up with a couple of goals," Kinnear said. "The effort of the guys all around was excellent. We kept on pushing for the win at the end and defended well in the second half. Sometimes you score, sometimes you can't and tonight we couldn't score."
• For 34-year-old Tony Caig, the clean sheet was a welcome sight. In his Dynamo debut, coming on as a substitute for injured Pat Onstad, he allowed goals on the first three shots he faced in an eventual 3-3 draw with FC Dallas. Then he was beaten for three goals by Saprissa.
• "It will be nice to get more touches because unfortunately my first touch with this team was picking up the ball out of the back of the net," said Caig. "But those are the kinds of things that comes with the territory of being a 'keeper. I have a lot of experience and I have been around. I just know and realize that when I am called upon I have to be consistent and put on a good display."
• Onstad is still unlikely to figure for the Dynamo this weekend. In addition, Houston will be without center back Eddie Robinson after he was suspended three matches and fined $1,000 for an incident involving Tyson Wahl during the Wizards match. Robinson was not called for a foul on the play, but in its ruling, the MLS Disciplinary Committee decided that the incident involved unnecessary contact of an egregious nature by Robinson to Wahl's head, which constitutes a red card offense.
