CARSON, Calif. – Robbie Keane's third penalty-kick miss of the season was costly for the LA Galaxy in Sunday's draw at San Jose, and his failures at the spot this year have been worth five points – enough to vault them atop the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield standings.
So what happens if LA is awarded a penalty in Saturday's StubHub Center showdown against FC Dallas (10:30 pm ET; MLS Live)? Nobody's certain.
“Listen, at the end of the day, it's the manager's choice,” said Keane, the Galaxy captain, who has converted just once in four tries from the spot. “I won't shy away from anything. Things like that don't bother me.”
Keane, who had made six of seven penalties in his first 2¼ seasons with the Galaxy, has never been one to alter his approach because something didn't work, and he's not likely to do so now. He's not happy, of course, that his attempt slammed off the crossbar when success would have given LA a two-goal advantage in the 37th minute against the Earthquakes.
“I'm not one to dwell on things too much,” Keane said following Thursday's training session at StubHub. “That's like saying if you miss a chance in normal play, are you going to give up or just keep playing? Of course, you're not [going to give up]. That's just the way it goes.”
In his other two misses, Nick Rimando saved Keane's stoppage-time spot kick on opening night to cement Real Salt Lake's 1-0 victory. Keane fired wide with a chance to tie the score in a 1-0 loss at Colorado in early May.
Head coach Bruce Arena isn't happy about it.
“We've missed [four] penalty kicks this year, and it's cost us a good number of points,” he said in his postgame news conference Sunday. “We have the best two penalty kick-takers in the league, in theory, and [our record on penalties is] terrible. You have to make penalties, and, unfortunately, we didn't. It's part of the game, but that's life.
“We've either lost games or only gotten a point in games where we've failed to convert a penalty. It adds up at this point in the season when you're three points behind in the Supporters' Shield race.”
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Keane bristled at the suggestion he's harmed the team.
“I've got way more points for this team over the last few years than I haven't, so if we lose points, we lose together as a team,” the Irish striker said. “Everyone somewhere along the line, whether it's the manager [or players], could hold their hands up and [take responsibility].
“[We could] say we lost points because of certain systems and stuff like that, so it's the same thing. We win together and we lose together as a team.”
Landon Donovan, who was serving a suspension Sunday, is the other strong option for penalty kicks. He's made 31 of 36 in his MLS career, including all three attempts this season, and many more internationally. Will he step up the next time the referee points to the spot?
“We haven't talked about that,” he said. “Robbie's a terrific penalty kick-taker. He's been a little unlucky this year with some of his. I don't really care [who takes them], to be honest, as long as it goes into the net. I think Robbie would tell you the same, so we'll figure that out. I'm not worried about it.”
