There's a cardinal rule in soccer: The most dangerous times in a game for a team to concede a goal are the first five minutes of the half, the last five minutes of the half, and five minutes after a goal is scored. The Los Angeles Galaxy fell victim to that rule Saturday night, giving up the game-winning goal to the New York Red Bulls just seconds after they had pulled level.
The Galaxy went into the locker room down a goal after Danleigh Borman cleaned up a rebound in the box in the 21st minute. They fought their way back into the game and clearly dominated the offensive pressure, but couldn't make the final breakdown of the Red Bulls defense.
Then, in the 77th minute, Alan Gordon knotted the game at 1-1. Yet with the crowd still celebrating, Dane Richards and Juan Pablo Angel combined for what proved to be the game-winning goal immediately off the restart.
It's been an ominous theme for Los Angeles in the early part of the season. Toronto FC's Jeff Cunningham scored in the waning moments a few weeks back to steal a win for the Canadian side. Against Chivas USA, the Galaxy gave away a game-tying goal just three minutes after taking the lead. The Galaxy eventually went on to win that game, but a pattern was starting to develop.
Saturday 2-1 defeat at The Home Depot Center was the third time this season that Los Angeles has lost concentration, and perhaps a lesson will be learned.
"When you finally break through to get that goal and gain the momentum, to give one up so quickly shows that we're a bit naïve," said Chris Klein. "We know what's in this locker room and when you don't see that come together, especially in the sport of soccer, (giving up goals) can happen. When it starts to happen one, two, three times, you start to see a trend. We don't want that to happen."
The frustration was clearly demonstrated on the face of Galaxy head coach Ruud Gullit after the game. Gullit was one of the greatest players of his generation, so he could see the play develop that resulted in the game-losing goal, but couldn't do much to stop it.
"If you get the goal then you must talk with each other and say 'Don't take that risk, stay tight, make the team a little closer to each other,'" said Gullit. "I'm on the sidelines saying use your head, and it doesn't happen. That is very frustrating and it's a pity because you fought so well and used a lot of energy (to get back into the game)."
Los Angeles has lacked that mental awareness for a full 90 minutes all season long. Los Angeles had a number of young players in the lineup, which can attribute to some of the lax play. The Galaxy have grown accustomed to their star players bailing them out of difficult situations, and that has come back to bite the team, especially against New York.
"Sometimes in a game, I don't know what it is, we switch off. We think we can win only on talent and that's not true," said Gullit. "We have to work hard every week. We have to stick to our game plan."
Another troubling sign is the Galaxy's inability to maintain their home-field advantage. So far, the Galaxy have played five home games and are 2-2-1 in those matches. In MLS, it has been proven vital to pick up as many points as possible at home in order to be successful over the course of a full season.
"We know that any team that has done well in this league has played well at home," said Klein. "We have to establish ourselves as one of those teams."
As is the case all over the world in soccer, one mental breakdown can often times spell the difference between success and failure. Saturday night, one short lapse of concentration in a moment of celebration cost the Galaxy a critical point -- and for the Galaxy the hope is that those mental errors can be corrected quickly.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
