The LA Galaxy will have to buck several trends when they host the New England Revolution this Saturday on the Fourth of July. Of course this is a day where soccer fans across the country will be celebrating the Independence Day holiday, while Galaxy fans hope to be watching the fireworks after a second straight victory. Such a victory would be the first against the New England club in almost five years, and even further stop a run of nine straight unbeaten matches for the Revs against LA. The best part for the Galaxy is... this match is there for the taking, and everyone from fans to the players knows it.
New England comes to Southern California riddled with injuries. The heart of the team, Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston and Shalrie Joesph are all out with various ailments. These are the players that have served as the engine of the Revs for the past few seasons, the players that have led the Eastern Conference powerhouse to positive result after positive result. Add to the mix that Chris Albright (injury), Jay Heaps (Gold Cup duty), and Mauricio Castro (injury) are all unavailable too, further evidence that the Galaxy need to give their fans fireworks, before the fireworks. So how exactly should Los Angeles go about accomplishing this task?
Attacking soccer will be a good place to start. The Galaxy displayed a bit of that early in the win over Houston, and fortunately it led to a Todd Dunivant goal in the first 25 minutes pf play. But LA will need more than that come Saturday. A sustained and balanced attack for the 90 minutes is more what I was thinking. The return of Landon Donovon will give a huge boost to the cause, but it is going to have to be a collective effort for the Galaxy to take another three points. Eddie Lewis attacking from the left side, Edson Buddle pouncing on a chance or two inside the area, Jovan Kirovski taking risks in the offensive third of the field and Alan Gordon making life miserable for the Revolution defenders, either as a starter or off the bench.
Now that we have covered the offensive side of things, what should Galaxy fans keep their eyes on when it comes to stopping the opponent? Staying organized and constant communication will be at the top of the list. The one thing that the Revs have right now going in their favor is team speed. Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi are burners in the wide position, and Kheli Dube can do well when it comes to getting in behind the back four. Gregg Berhalter has shown the ability to keep things organized in the back, but on the same token, when matched up against younger and quicker players, there have been problems. In order to avoid this from happening, first the midfield must do a better job of keeping close tabs on the Revolution midfield. Limiting the space that the midfielders have to play in, and the amount of time they have to make smart decisions with the ball at their feet. There will no doubt be a few moments when New England does in fact get into a dangerous spot on the field, and when and if this does happen, LA has to have a second and even third defender coming in to slow the attack. This will allow numbers to get behind the ball and consequently reorganize their shape.
One other element to watch will be the likely return of Josh Saunders. With Donovan Ricketts away on Gold Cup duty with Jamaica, Saunders will need to come up with a BIG performance. Saunders is a great back-up to Ricketts and Saturday will be his opportunity to confirm exactly that. It will go a long way into Josh having a solid performance if he is tested and comes up with a quality save or two in the opening 15 minutes of the match. While watching Saunders in practice this week, you could see the second year Galaxy goalkeeper is eager to show his worth and Saturday's match could be the perfect stage.
Lastly, let me take a moment to wish all of you a great holiday weekend! Whether you are watching the game from home, or enjoying the action at the HDC, cherish the fact that you are able to take time from the daily grind to enjoy some futbol. On a day when the celebration revolves around the theme of independence, freedom and endless possibilities, think for a moment about what those words mean to you. For me they conjure of images of free flowing movement, laughs with good people abound, and yes fireworks! Yet still, all of these things will be that much "brighter" after another Galaxy win at the HDC. Enjoy the show!
