their third in a row -- and won back-to-back games for the first time in defense of their MLS Cup title. Red Bulls interim head coach Richie Williams was left still looking for his first victory, in his third game in charge.
Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop made no changes to the team that defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 the Saturday before at Arrowhead Stadium.
Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Chris Albright, Ugo Ihemelu, Tyrone Marshall, Troy Roberts - Quavas Kirk, Nathan Sturgis, Peter Vagenas, Josh Gardner (Cobi Jones 73) - Landon Donovan, Herculez Gomez (John Wolyniec 89). [Substitutes Not Used: Benjamin Benditson, Marc Burch, Steve Cronin, Michael Enfield, Alan Gordon]
"I thought the team performed very well tonight. Obviously, it was fantastic to get three points at home and the win," Yallop said. "I am really happy for the boys, they worked hard for this. We played really well in the first half and had a bit of a low in the second half, but came through in the end and got a goal. We fully deserved to win."TEAM NEWS
As remarkable as it is, it was the first victory in a home game for the Galaxy this season. They had won once previously on Victoria Street - but that was against Chivas USA, in a Chivas home game. "From where we were, we had nowhere to go but up. We could have put our heads down and just given up, but we haven't," Donovan said. "You can see it, you can see this team fighting with everything they have. If someone gets beat, then the next guy is coming to come in and cover for you, and that just really picks the team up."
It was a third consecutive shutout for the Galaxy, and Hartman was called upon to make three saves. "I think sometimes when a team gets a shutout, people tend to look at the goalkeeper, but this again was really the product of everyone playing defense tonight," said Hartman. "We are all playing with a lot of confidence, and the defense has really come a long way. Everyone is defending better, and I think that shows in the scoreline."
Galaxy opponents have now gone 332 minutes without scoring a goal. The club record is 525 scoreless minutes. "We worked on it in training. Defending is a mentality; it is not necessarily about positioning. It is about wanting to clear the ball, wanting to get your head on the ball, and tonight we were first to everything," Yallop said. "They had a couple of chances tonight, because good teams will get chances against you, but we defended very well. Kevin [Hartman] had a good save in the first half and I thought we really kept them away from the goal, which was good."
Donovan has scored all three goals since his return from the World Cup, and has four of the Galaxy's 13 goals on the season. "I am not concerned at all about that. It will change soon, with regards to who is scoring goals," Yallop said. "Landon is the missing link and he showed that tonight. That is why we have that salary cap in his league. There are special players and you can only have one or two, and Landon is our special player."
Donovan was also named club captain by Yallop last week. "Last week we had a chat with Peter [Vagenas], Tyrone [Marshall] and Landon [Donovan]. I feel that Landon is the leader of the team, by the way he plays and the way he led the team over the last season," he said. "I don't really put a lot into it, the captaincy, to be honest. I told Peter and Tyrone, that whether they wear the armband or not, they are still the leaders of the team. I thought it would give Landon a boost and lift, and I think it showed."
Donovan's experience in Germany also likely had a factor. "I don't think that I became a bad player over those bad two games (at the World Cup)," Donovan said. "At least I was hoping I didn't. Like I said, I learned a lot. As long as you learned from those experiences, that's all you can do," he said. "I could have hung my head and been upset, but I learned and I'm being more aggressive, and it is helping me."
Yallop is thrilled to have the man back who helped bring two MLS Cups to the Earthquakes when they were together. "I have actually seen that a few times when I was in San Jose. That is what makes Landon so special -- if you fall asleep for a second he will hurt you. He showed amazing speed and pace to get to that ball and a great finish too," Yallop said. "With three goals in two games, I think that shows that he means business."REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake played to a second consecutive scoreless draw at home, their winless run extending as they and Chivas USA finished goalless on July 4 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. With the result, RSL fell into sole possession of sixth place in the Western Conference with 13 points from 15 matches, two behind the Los Angeles Galaxy, eight behind the fourth-place Colorado Rapids and 14 points out of first place.
LAST MATCH
Real hadn't won in four games, while Chivas USA hadn't lost in five. And the rematch of the expansion teams from a year ago petered out into a scoreless draw, although RSL - flagged for offside 11 times on the night - had apparent goals from Atiba Harris in the first half and Jason Kreis in the second ruled out when the linesman's flag went up.
Real head coach John Ellinger made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 late to the Chicago Fire the Wednesday before at Toyota Park. Eddie Pope came back into central defense in his first appearance since returning from the World Cup, coming in for Nelson Akwari, while Jeff Cunningham also returned to the starting lineup in place of the suspended Carey Talley.
Here's Ellinger's team (4-4-2): Scott Garlick - Kevin Novak, Eddie Pope (Nelson Akwari 46), Daniel Torres, Willis Forko - Chris Klein, Mehdi Ballouchy, Douglas Sequeira (Jamie Watson 84), Jason Kreis - Jeff Cunningham, Atiba Harris (Andy Williams 71). [Substitutes Not Used: Chris Brown, Kenny Cutler, Jay Nolly, Joey Worthen]
"It's pretty simple game, you've got to finish your chances. There isn't any overtime or penalty kicks, you've got to finish your chances, and we had some good ones. But again, we have to finish them," said Ellinger.TEAM NEWS
Real haven't won since June, a stretch of five games that included two home games. But the three road games are all since the 3-0 win at the Los Angeles Galaxy - the first and only away victory in RSL club history.
"We're trying to make the playoffs, and get points at home," said Ellinger. "We know we've played well enough to win the past two home games. If we don't get points at home, we have to get them on the road, which means we can't lose on the road."
After scoring 10 goals in a four-game unbeaten run, Real have scored just two goals over their last five matches. "I think a lot of times it's the final pass, the decision about where that last pass should go, whether we pass or shoot, or what's going to happen in that final third," said Jason Kreis to the Deseret Morning News. "But the good news is we're playing good soccer, and again deserved more than we got."
While Real had two goals ruled out for offside, Ellinger thought his team needed to do a better job dealing with the Chivas back line. "It's basically timing your runs," he said. "If someone is offsides, we've got to have someone run behind them and scream at them that they are offsides, and tell them to start their runs from a deeper position so they don't get called offsides."
Despite the inability to really break down the Chivas defense, Ellinger was pleased with how his team closed down the visitors. "At times (Chivas) goes from two in central midfield to five in central midfield, so they're going to get the five-yard passes and 1-2 in the middle, but as long we stay disciplined and keep our shape, we stopped them from penetrating for the most part," said Ellinger.
Pope came back into the lineup for the first time since the World Cup, but his back stiffened throughout the first half and Ellinger was forced to bring on Nelson Akwari in his place in central defense at halftime.
While they did get a second draw in three games, the feeling in the Real locker room was it was unacceptable. "We have to be positive and confident to say that we dropped two points tonight. That's not good enough," Kreis said. "When we are at home, we need all three points. There are no questions, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We can make up for it on Saturday and be back where we need to be."
