With first place in the Western Conference already wrapped up for FC Dallas, and no hope of making the postseason for the Los Angeles Galaxy, there wasn't a lot to play for other than pride at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night. But the home side treated a sellout crowd to a display of offensive soccer on "Fan Appreciation Night" in a 5-2 victory.
Two goals from Landon Donovan were complimented by strikes from Herculez Gomez, Cobi Jones, and Santino Quaranta. Abe Thompson and Arturo Alvarez tallied for the visitors.
Neither the Galaxy or FC Dallas had anything to lose heading in to the contest, and both teams seemed dedicated to playing wide open attacking soccer. The action started almost immediately after the opening whistle.
Donovan was all over the field wreaking havoc in the Dallas end and in just the fourth minute split a pair of defenders and was into the penalty area. Just as Donovan looked ready to take on FC Dallas goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, Donovan seemed to be brought down from behind, but to his dismay play continued.
A minute later Quaranta found Gomez with a cross from the left flank. Gomez jumped as high as he could to meet the ball and sent a looping header over the outstretched arms of Shaka Hislop that clanged against the crossbar.
On the ensuing corner Ante Jazic flicked a header towards the back post where Paulo Nagamura ran onto the ball and fired low, only to see his effort saved by Hislop.
Dallas began to assert themselves on the offensive end, and in the 14th minute opened the scoring. Richard Mulrooney picked out Ronnie O'Brien with a long switch of play. The Irishman settled the ball and played a cross along the ground in the penalty area. Thompson ran onto the ball and blasted it into the back of the net with his first touch, leaving Kevin Hartman no chance.
Dallas kept the pressure on and just minutes after opening the scoring Mulrooney nearly came up with a goal of his own with a long-range blast that skidded just wide of the back post.
The play continued in a back and forth manner with both teams trading chances just minutes apart. First it was Chris Albright who headed a Donovan corner kick just inches wide. Then O'Brien broke loose on a breakaway that forced Hartman off his line to tackle the ball away with a sliding effort.
Gomez forced a save from Hislop in the 23rd minute when he worked himself free on the right side of the field. From the top edge of the 18, Gomez fired low to the back post, only to see his effort saved by the Trinidad and Tobago international.
Gomez combined perfectly with Donovan in the role of provider in the 25th minute, and helped the Green-and-Gold pull level. Donovan set Gomez free on the right side, and he then drove a cross along the ground to Donovan, who was steaming up the center for the return pass. He made no mistake with his first touch, tucking the ball inside the near post.
Gomez gave the Galaxy the lead 10 minutes later. Gomez dribbled around Dallas defender Chris Gbandi into the penalty area all alone. From a very sharp angle, Gomez slipped the ball under Hislop and off the inside of the back post.
Gomez and Donovan hooked up again three minutes later. Continuing to use the right flank as his own personal stomping ground, this time Gomez whipped a cross to the back post, again looking for Donovan. Flinging himself forward, Donovan stabbed the ball out of the air with his right foot and redirected the cross into the back of the net to double the advantage.
The deluge of goals continued for Los Angeles just six minutes into the second half. Albright found an overlapping Nagamura down the right side. Nagamura played a cross to the near post where Jones calmly redirected the ball into the back of the net to make the score 4-1 for the Galaxy.
In the 66th minute Donovan thought he had his hat trick. After a clever buildup through midfield, Donovan wound up with the ball at the top of the penalty area and fired a low shot that beat Hislop. But defender Drew Moor cleared the ball from danger to deny Donovan his third of the night.
The Galaxy offense showed no signs of relenting. In the 79th minute Quaranta was the fortunate recipient of a cross from Jones that squirted through the 18 all the way to the back post. With acres of space to use, Quaranta settled the ball and fired the ball into the side netting.
Immediately off the restart, Dallas pulled one back. Alvarez, who entered the game as a second-half substitute, collected a crossfield ball from O'Brien and dribbled across the top of the area. From about 22 yards out, Alvarez fired a shot into the lower corner past a diving Hartman.
Donovan was again denied his hat trick in the 85th minute. This time on a breakaway, Donovan rounded Hislop and shot towards the empty net. Moor again was the spoiler as he slid to clear the ball off the line just before Donovan could celebrate.
Donovan's disappointment was short-lived however, as the Galaxy soon celebrated a second win this season when they had scored five goals. Ironically, the other offensive outburst came against the top team in the Eastern Conference, D.C. United, who finished just ahead of FC Dallas in the race for the league's best overall record.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
