The LA Galaxy knew they would need a goal at some point in the second leg of the Western Conference Championship of the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, on Sunday at CenturyLink Field.
Robbie Keane thinks the Seattle Sounders helped them find that goal.
Juninho's 54th-minute strike Sunday off a corner kick that found its way out of the Sounders' box, a shot that ripped past three defenders and diving goalkeeper Stefan Frei before caroming off the left post and into the net, sent the Galaxy to their fourth MLS Cup final in six years, on away goals, after Sunday's 2-1 Seattle win resulted in a 2-2 aggregate and LA series victory on the away-goals tiebreaker rule.
The Sounders had taken command of the series with first-half goals by Brad Evans and Clint Dempsey, and that was just the prodding LA needed.
“We needed a goal anyway, we knew that,” Keane told media after the Galaxy secured a date with the New England Revolution in Sunday’s MLS Cup at StubHub Center (3 pm ET, ESPN/UniMas/UDN/TSN1/RDS2, buy tickets here), the third time in four years the Galaxy will play host in the title game. “It was two-nil, and we'd have to score to win the game anyway, so it didn't really change [the circumstances].
“The only thing it probably did do was actually help us come out and attack a bit more. ... I think actually, in a weird way, them scoring those two goals actually helped us.”
The Galaxy started strong, then watched Seattle seize momentum during a frenetic 10-minute stretch in which they applied considerable pressure on LA's defense and created four outstanding opportunities, with Evans tallying in the 26th minute and Dempsey six minutes later.
LA didn't fret. The message at halftime was simple.
“We end up going into [halftime behind] 2-0,” LA defender Omar Gonzalez said. “And in the locker room, everyone's still got faith, everyone's saying we just need a goal, that's all we need is one goal because they're not going to score again.”
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Juninho's first goal in more than 14 months gave control back to the Galaxy, and although Seattle pressed for another – especially in the hectic final minutes – LA didn't concede a second-half shot until the 90th minute. The Sounders did not have a shot on goal after halftime.
Landon Donovan credited experience in the games that matter most.
“We have a lot of guys here who have won in their career, and that's a big advantage over a lot of other teams, including Seattle. They don't have a ton of guys that have won a lot of championships,” he said. “We know how to win in any scenario, and that's what we pride ourselves on.
“We're not always perfect, we know that, but at the end of the game, I look up and in the 90th minute Robbie Keane is in our penalty area defending and clearing balls out of the box. Not a lot of other teams have guys that do that and put in that kind of commitment to the cause, and that's why we are where we are.”
