HOUSTON - The Los Angeles Galaxy knew they were in for a tough match Sunday evening at Robertson Stadium when they opened the season against defending MLS Cup champions Houston Dynamo. But after a scoreless draw, the Galaxy thought they could have done more.
"We're happy," said Galaxy forward Landon Donovan. "We had to play the champs in their place to open the season. (That part of tying) is satisfying, but you can always look back and say, that is a game we could have won and personally, I had a lot of chances that I could have scored on."
Donovan had six of L.A.'s 11 shots on the night, with one of them on goal. His best shot to score was in the 14th minute when Donovan had a short breakaway, but Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad made a diving save on the shot from the left side.
After Houston's Ryan Cochrane received a red card ejection in the 76th minute for pulling the Galaxy's Robbie Findley down from behind, Donovan served the free kick to Findley, but his header went wide of the goal.
"I was really happy with the performance of the guys," said Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop. "We created some real clear-cut chances that we maybe didn't take, but that will come in the season when we get a little more game savvy. Really with the chances we created we should've scored a goal, and that's encouraging and will lead to good things this season."
The game ended a scoreless tie due to the work of L.A. goalkeeper Joe Cannon and Houston's Onstad. Cannon saw 11 shots on the night with four of them being on goal.
"I think you are always worried about Houston's offensive firepower no matter what," said Cannon, who played against Houston last season in the Dynamo's home opener when he was with the Colorado Rapids, a 5-2 Houston win. "They have a good team and they are all still together. Barring one or two players, they have all been together four years going back to their days in San Jose.
"They are always a dangerous team, but tonight, as a team, I think we were able to break them down at key times. This is our first game. Later on this year, when we get these same kinds of chances, we'll be able to put those away. It was a total team effort tonight and that is the main thing."
Cannon stopped a shot from Brad Davis in the 12th minute and saved a header by Eddie Robinson in the 37th minute. Three of his four stops came in the first half.
Even though the Galaxy walked out of Houston with just one point, L.A. knows it will be a tough team to beat.
"I think tonight we felt that we probably had the better chances than Houston," Cannon said. "I think at the same time, they still got a lot of the ball and had good possession. You have to give credit to the rest of our guys; our defense really played incredible tonight. I think if we give efforts like this, night in and night out, we'll be one of the better teams and a tough team to beat overall."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
