Bouna Time?! Who is this guy? No he's not Eddie Murphy's character on the train scene from Trading Places. He's the guy who laid another goose egg on the Galaxy score sheet, that's who he is.
Crazy ... it is just crazy at this point. Bouna Coundoul from Senegal, the third-string goalkeeper for the Rapids, stoned the Galaxy. Unbelievable! I saw it myself, called the action myself and still can't believe it. And, a Galaxy team record was set for futility: 390 minutes without a goal. That leaves the Galaxy with no wins at home (0-4-1). Yes, the pressure is on.
Bouna Coundoul made five saves, or in my view he was assaulted by five Galaxy shots and countless near misses as the defending champs absorbed another setback to the season. To be honest, Bouna positioned himself well on the header from Herculez Gomez in the second half, but is it really Bouna time? Joe Cannon beware; Bouna is going to take your job.
"Joe (Cannon) is really, really good. To me, he's the best goalie I've seen so far," Coundoul said. "But like they say, it's Bouna Time now."
Bouna Time. Bouna Coundoul was the difference of Saturday's match at the Home Depot Center. He made five saves on the night as the Galaxy offense continued to misfire. Wave upon wave of Galaxy rushes on the Rapids' goal either went wide, high or were gobbled up by the cat from Senegal. Heck, he dove the wrong way on Kyle Martino's attempt in the first half and still got his right paw on Martino's shot. He was nearly sitting on his backside giving away the near post on John Wolyniec's chance in the second half only to have Woly's attempt hit him. After that performance, Coundoul should get combat pay.
''I'm capable of doing big stuff,'' Coundoul said. ''I had confidence in myself and the coaches trusted me. They said, 'Just play the way you've been playing in practice and in reserve games.'"
With play like that I hope he has Aflac.
Yup, that was a big performance indeed, and now here we are, Galaxy fans, mired in the cellar of the Western Conference with the goats of Chivas USA. Tell those guys to share the hay.
THE GOOD... The Galaxy gave a strong effort throughout the match, especially in the second half. Clear chances were created. In the end, the Galaxy did get five shots on frame. Like I've said, it's not the physical effort that is the issue. The boys leave it all on the field. Nobody is mailing it in.
"People can not say that we didn't try tonight. If there is anyone in that stadium that thought that the players didn't play their hearts out, then they are crazy," said Galaxy coach Steve Sampson. "It was not a lack of effort tonight; it was a lack of execution. We had so many chances in front of the goal that we should have put away. I think we gave ourselves the best chance to score (Saturday), but the goalkeeper made three phenomenal saves which kept them in the game."
If Coundoul were a pinball machine, the Galaxy would have been in the bonus. He was getting lit up so many times he went into 'tilt' mode. I've never seen a goalkeeper cramp up before. Somebody give "Bouna Time" some potassium. The young man dehydrated like it was an August afternoon during a Santa Ana, instead it was a grey May night in the Southland. But cramps or not, Bouna came through for the Rapids when it mattered most.
THE BAD... Well yes, a big fat zero on the scoreboard - again. It's like everyone is wearing Pando Ramirez's boots. New boots for everyone - and shoe laces too.
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST... And it's going to stay right here, but I just can't help thinking how Clint Mathis, a motivated and happy Clint Mathis, would be perfect in the middle of the field for Los Angeles. When Mathis shows up he sees the game as well as anyone, can dish better than most and can hold the ball and advance into the offensive third. He was on the bench while recovering from an earlier injury Saturday night for Colorado. In this case, if 'Ifs and buts were candy and nuts, Cletus would be on the national team.'
Joe Tutino is in his eighth season as the English radio voice of the Los Angeles Galaxy. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of the Los Angeles Galaxy or Major League Soccer.
