Looking for any kind of inspiration after enduring three consecutive shutouts, all Real Salt Lake found at Home Depot Center was a motivated Landon Donovan, back from an impressive week of United States national team duty and still peeved, along with his teammates, in losing to the expansion side in Salt Lake City in their previous meeting.
Donovan scored his sixth goal of the season in the 52nd minute as Real was blanked again and lost a fourth consecutive league match in a 1-0 Galaxy win at The Home Depot Center, extending the RSL goalless streak to 411 minutes.
Real saw three changes to its first 11 from last weekend, due to injuries and coach John Ellinger's willingness to find a working combination on the pitch. Brian Kamler came back to play the left back role for Rusty Pierce (tight hamstring) and Matt Behncke filled in for center back Eddie Pope, who did not make the L.A. trip after playing in the United States' 3-0 World Cup qualifying win in Panama Wednesday. Pope picked up a bone bruise to his right kneecap in last weekend's qualifier against Costa Rica in Salt Lake City.
Jason Kreis dropped into a creator's role, allowing Dante Washington to make his first start of the season as a target striker, and shared central midfield with MLS debutant Kenny Cutler, the holding midfielder.
However, this was not the match for Real to look to break its scoring slump. Not when the priority was to neutralize one of the league's best attacks, bolstered by the return of playmaker Donovan, by keeping space tight in the back on the spacious Home Depot Center pitch.
Sitting eight and nine men behind the ball consistently against a patient, possession-oriented attack of the Galaxy, RSL had no first-half shots and corners. If not for Donovan's presence, the first half might have put the entire crowd to sleep.
Donovan had shots in the 11th and 40th minutes roll wide of the left post from the top of the penalty area but was more a menace in creating chances for teammates. He chipped Cobi Jones in on goal in the 24th minute, only for center back Brian Dunseth to race back and poke the ball over his own goal before Jones could latch onto it.
Another Donovan-to-Jones feed inside the area on the right two minutes later forced RSL goalkeeper D.J. Countess to push the near-post shot over the endline. Jones took a Donovan pass near the endline on the right in the 30th minute only to have his back-post cross for an open Guillermo Ramirez tipped by Countess with the ball running out the other end.
Ramirez, searching for his first MLS goal, controlled Chris Brown's careless gamble to win the ball in the 39th minute but his hard, curling shot just outside the top, left edge of the area flew right to Countess. Real was then in good shape with a scoreless half after Donovan rewarded defender Pablo Chinchilla with a run into the area, only for Chinchilla's first-time shot to roll harmlessly to Countess.
Just after the break, RSL did record its first shot in the 51st minute as Washington clumsily settled a ball from Brown inside the area before unleashing an ailing roller from 20 yards out that ran over the endline on the left.
The Galaxy built an attacking wave from the ensuing goal kick and it led to a 52nd-minute opener for Donovan, finally rewarded for running off the back of Dunseth several times earlier.
This time it was Jones with a centering ball in from the right flank for Donovan, who slipped in behind Dunseth and chested the ball down, took a touch into the penalty area and clinically cut back a 12-yard shot that rolled past the wrong-footed Countess just inside the foot of the far post.
The goal forced Real to open up slightly in seeking an equalizer, and they should have been punished for it if not for the continued subpar finishing from the hosts.
A minute after Real defender Nelson Akwari ran Donovan off a through ball behind the defense and cleared a loose ball away, the Galaxy beat back down into the last third and earned a 59th-minute free kick in deep territory. Jovan Kirovski's far-post ball was volleyed a yard wide by Chinchilla. Then in the 65th minute, Kirovski poorly whizzed an open half-volley from near the penalty spot a foot over the crossbar.
Real were quite unlucky not to get an equalizer moments later as Galaxy defender Tyrone Marshall slipped in marking Washington, whose seven-yard header from a bouncing cross from the left got past the charging Hartman and landed on top of the crossbar. The rebound caromed right back to Washington, who won a header over Hartman's challenge only for left back Todd Dunivant to boot the ball off the line.
But that was the last stand for Real, whose last goal came on May 18 in a 2-0 victory against Chivas USA.
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Damian Secore is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
Real Salt Lake (3-7-2) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (7-2-2)
June 11, 2005 -- The Home Depot Center
Scoring Summary:
LA -- Landon Donovan 6 (Cobi Jones 3) 52
Real Salt Lake -- D.J. Countess, Nelson Akwari, Matt Behncke, Brian Dunseth, Brian Kamler, Andy Williams, Kenny Cutler, Jason Kreis, Chris Brown (Seth Trembly 72), Clint Mathis (Jamie Watson 61), Dante Washington.
Substitutes Not Used: Nikolas Besagno, Jay Nolly, Leighton O'Brien.
TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Dante Washington 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Dante Washington 1); FOULS: 13 (3 tied with 2); OFFSIDES: 9 (4 tied with 2); CORNER KICKS: 0; SAVES: 6 (D.J. Countess 6)
Los Angeles Galaxy -- Kevin Hartman, Ugo Ihemelu, Pablo Chinchilla, Tyrone Marshall, Todd Dunivant, Cobi Jones, Paulo Nagamura, Peter Vagenas, Guillermo Ramirez, Landon Donovan, Jovan Kirovski (Ednaldo da Conceicao 78).
Substitutes Not Used: Mubarike Chisoni, Michael Enfield, Josh Gardner, Herculez Gomez, Guillermo Gonzalez, Troy Roberts, Josh Saunders, Michael Umana.
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Jovan Kirovski 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Jovan Kirovski 2, Guillermo Ramirez 2); FOULS: 10 (Ugo Ihemelu 6); OFFSIDES: 4 (Landon Donovan 3); CORNER KICKS: 7 (Landon Donovan 7); SAVES: 1
Misconduct Summary:
RSL -- Nelson Akwari (caution; Pushing, Holding) 20
RSL -- Clint Mathis (caution; Dissent) 59
RSL -- Seth Trembly (caution; Reckless Foul) 75
LA -- Ugo Ihemelu (caution; Professional Foul) 80
Referee: Marcel Yonan
Referee's Assistants: Richard Eddy; Steven Davidson
4th Official: Ian Anderson
Attendance: 23,544
Time of Game: 1:49
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-71-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
