CARSON, Calif. -- Alan Gordon has made an enormous impact for the LA Galaxy since arriving in a trade last month from San Jose, scoring four goals, setting up another and winning a penalty kick/red card combination to start the club's most lopsided victory in some 16 years.
His strike to beat FC Dallas 2-1 in a vital Western Conference showdown Saturday night, a header from a Robbie Keane cross, might be the best he's given the Galaxy, although given his previous contributions, that's no slam dunk.
The veteran striker's 84th-minute finish delivered a postseason berth and pulled LA (15-5-9) even with Seattle on points atop the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield tables, leaving them in a good spot heading into the last five games of the season.
“He's been fantastic, and this was a game that called out for him to be in,” Landon Donovan said following the triumph at StubHub Center. “I think we had to be a little more direct in the way we played, because they did a good job pressing us, and when games are like that, sometimes you have to put the ball up the field and battle for it.
“And so having him on the field helped, and [he] gets himself in great spots. Robbie hit a fantastic ball, and it was a really, really important goal for us that meant the difference between getting where we want to be and not.”
It completed a comeback from a 54th-minute deficit, with Keane netting the tying goal in the 62nd. Head coach Bruce Arena called it a “great win … one of our better wins of the year,” and the difference for LA was the second-half insertions of Stefan Ishizaki, moments before Keane's strike, and Gordon in the 75th.
Gordon has a knack for scoring off the bench, as he demonstrated two years ago when he tallied 13, most of them as a sub, as San Jose won the Supporters' Shield. He scored three minutes after coming off the bench against Colorado, two minutes after against Montreal, and his other goal, in a victory over D.C. United, came in the second minute. He set up the penalty kick and red card to Colorado goalkeeper Joe Nasco just seconds into LA's 6-0 romp 15 days ago.
“He puts himself in good spots, he works hard, he does the right things, and when you do that, good things happen,” Donovan said. “He's learned over the years how to play as a substitute -- it's not easy -- and it says a lot about his professionalism, his mentality, when he's sitting on the bench 60 minutes and he's ready to come in right away and makes a big difference.”
Gordon downplayed this goal, in which he created space on defender Zach Loyd and headed Keane's cross against the grain and inside the left post.
“It wasn't much for me to do,” he said. “That was a pretty good ball. I just got my head on it.
“Trying to be in the right places is the most important thing, because I know there's a lot of guys [with the Galaxy] who can deliver those balls. That's been the biggest difference.”
The comeback reminded him of San Jose's many late rallies two years ago.
“It's a sign of a good team, I'll tell you that much,” he said. “Being with San Jose in 2012, that's what we were able to do and captured the Supporters' Shield, and this team has every bit of that character, if not more. So good things happen when you can respond and deal with adversity and come out on top.”
