Leads haven't come around too often for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and on Saturday against the New York Red Bulls one disappeared even quicker.
Herculez Gomez put the Galaxy in front in the 25th minute, but New York struck twice in a span of 69 seconds to beat the Galaxy 2-1 at Giants Stadium. It was the Galaxy's eighth loss in their last nine games.
"This time we got a lead and we played like we hadn't had a lead in a long time," Galaxy forward John Wolyniec said. "Once you score a goal, you have to know that a team is going to come right back at you. We were a little naïve to sit back and relax. That five-minute period costs us the game. For the other 85 minutes we played well."
But while he's disappointed in the result, Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop said that he knows that things can't change overnight, or even in 10 days.
There were positive signs for the Galaxy. The ball movement was better, as was the possession. They did well to take the lead and probably should have equalized late after putting the Red Bulls on their heels for the final 10 minutes of the game.
"It's all a start for us and I think what I liked about us after conceding two goals is that we were really pushing the issue and late in the game I thought we could have tied it," Yallop said. "We have some young guys out there and there's some inexperience but all in all it's a team that hasn't played together much."
And Gomez's goal was a positive, as he put away Paulo Nagamura cross for his third tally of the year.
"It always gives you confidence when you put the ball in the net, especially when the coach is encouraging you to go forward and press the issue," Gomez said. "It was a good ball by Paulo and really, it was all him. I found myself in a good position and just kept it hard and low and Tony [Meola] couldn't hold onto it."
But it was that tiny stretch, that span of 69 seconds that was the difference between their first win since April 29 and another crushing defeat. In that time, Edson Buddle and Jean Philippe Peguero scored for the Red Bulls as result of Galaxy miscues, according to Yallop.
"I think we deserved an equalizer, to be honest and I don't think New York deserved to definitely win the game," he said. "We could have got a draw there, I think."
In front of his family and friends and former teammates, Wolyniec nearly put the Galaxy in front. But he tapped the ball off the post just 1:15 into the match. The Galaxy had the first scoring chance of the second half as well, but Meola tapped Todd Dunivant's shot from distance over the bar for a corner kick in the 52nd minute.
"It was early and I didn't put quite enough on it," Wolyniec said. "I was kind of searching for the back post, side netting and it didn't quite get there."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
