Landon Donovan came out of retirement to help the Galaxy chase a sixth MLS Cup, and on Sunday in Kansas City his first goal delivered a valuable point in the chase for Western Conference playoff seeding.
Down 2-1 and lacking inspiration on a hot day at Children's Mercy Park, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena turned to Donovan in the 74th minute and the MLS and US national team legend combined with Robbie Rogers just two minutes later to cancel out second-half goals from Jacob Peterson and Dom Dwyer.
LA's Alan Gordon got things rolling in a first half that saw SKC outshoot LA 14-1 but trail 1-0 after the veteran forward got on the end of an Emmanuel Boateng cross in the seventh minute. Overall, Sporting enjoyed a sizeable advantage in possession and shots, but couldn't make it count in a match that saw them hold steady in the sixth and final playoff spot in the West.
With each team picking up a point from the 2-2 draw, LA (11-4-15, 48 pts) moved into second in the West, while Sporting KC (11-12-7, 40 pts) trail Portland by two points and lead seventh-place Seattle by five points.
Box Score
- 7' - LA - Alan Gordon (Emmanuel Boateng, Sebastian Lletget)
- 50' - SKC - Jacob Peterson (Dom Dwyer)
- 69' - SKC - Dom Dwyer (Saad Abdul-Salaam, Benny Feilhaber)
- 76' - LA - Landon Donovan (Robbie Rogers)
- Full Box Score
- Stats
- Watch Highlights
Three Things
1. NO GIO, NO PROBLEM: MLS's hottest player is Giovani dos Santos. Unfortunately for LA, Santos had to be held out in Kansas City. Fortunately for LA, the issue doesn't seem serious.
2. WATER BREAKS, PLEASE: Play was paused in each half for water breaks after the head coaches of both teams, Bruce Arena and Peter Vermes, requested the measure to help players endure hot and humid conditions.
3. LD SCORES, CHOIR ERUPTS: Is anyone shocked Donovan is already winning points for the Galaxy? That's what we thought.
Next Up
- SKC: Saturday, September 24 at San Jose Earthquakes (10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE)
- LA: Sunday, September 25 vs. Seattle Sounders FC (4 ET; ESPN)
