Coming in with a .500 record that belied their immense talent -- and sorely needing a road victory having not won away from Southern California since June 2004 -- the Los Angeles Galaxy left D.C. on the right side of a 3-2 scoreline on the strength of two Landon Donovan goals.
With a never-say-die attitude, they exacted sweet revenge against a D.C. United squad that stole a 1-0 win in Los Angeles on July 23, thanks to youngster Freddy Adu's late-game heroics.
But Adu, fighting an MCL sprain, was not dressed Saturday, and there was a decidedly different outcome, with Donovan playing the role of hero this time.
Following a United own goal midway through the first half that gave his team a one-goal lead, the 23-year old connected on a free kick just after halftime, then scored the game-winner on a 67th-minute header. Tallies from United's Bryan Namoff and Jaime Moreno both drew the home team even, but in the final analysis weren't enough to overcome a relentless and determined Galaxy squad.
"Obviously (winning on the road) is a long time coming," said L.A. goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. "The passion with which this team has been playing as of late, whether it's in practice or in games, is really something that's going to be the determining factor in whether we're able to get those wins on the road.
"I think tonight we were unfortunate to be tied up twice, but to continue to come back and continue to fight (showed that we were) passionate about the effort we were giving."
Galaxy head coach Steve Sampson was equally enthused about the always-precious road victory.
"(This was) three very important points for us," he said. "It comes at a very important time for us. Our team has not won on the road in so very long; leading up to the playoffs it's important that we play better and get results. I think coming out of here with three points against a very good D.C. United team that has won five out of the last six matches, it will give us an enormous amount of confidence going forward."
Sampson was also impressed by his team's resilience and ability to bounce back.
"One of the things I really liked," he said, "was the character of the team. We scored, D.C. responded, and we were able to come back with our own positive response. That is the sign of a good team that does not get down after they are scored upon. Congratulations to my guys who showed the level of character we desperately needed."
Though a trio of Galaxy players (Hartman, Donovan, and defender Chris Albright) got the call-up for Wednesday's U.S. national team regional World Cup qualifier, all three played a full ninety minutes on a muggy evening in the nation's capital. But Hartman, who added to his all-time record for consecutive games started, which now sits at 90, wasn't about to make excuses despite the national team obligations.
"We're a team that when we're passionate about what we do," Hartman said, "and we stop making excuses for ourselves, we're a lot better off. There are certain things that are in our control and certain things that are out of our control. It's out of our control whether we go and play for the national team, but it is in our control what type of effort we bring on a Saturday and we take care of our bodies between Wednesday and Saturday."
The Galaxy were without the services of playmaker Guillermo Ramirez, who didn't make the trip on a coach's decision, and regular starter Jovan Kirovski spent the game on the sidelines. But the combination play of outside midfielder Cobi Jones and Donovan was enough to give United fits the entire game.
"It was a great match," said Hartman. "It really had a good atmosphere to it. ... It was great to be a part of. It's great to be able to win on the road and have that as an option, because in the past it didn't even seem like it was an option at certain points. I have a lot of respect for the guys on the team to be so selfless and give a good 90-minute effort."
Omar Garriott is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
