Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Philadelphia Union: A Taste of Their Own Doop?

In Philadelphia Union circles, the phrase Beat L.A. has replaced by "Doop L.A." The word "Doop," which has its origins in the German techno band Scooter, has been embraced as a tradition of some sorts by Philadelphia Union supporters, notably the Sons of Ben.

Of course, the verb can be a noun, and on Wednesday, May 11, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will aim to give Peter Nowak's Union a taste of their own doop when they do battle at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.

The Galaxy are still first overall in the league with a 4-2-4 record (16 points) but are winless in their last two matches. LA is coming off a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls.

As for the Union, they are 4-2-1 (13 points) and have won just two out of their last five contests. Philly will aim to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat on the road to the Portland Timbers on Friday.

The Union will need to increase their scoring production and test the volatile Galaxy back line. Carlos Ruiz leads the team with two goals, while Danny Mwanga and Sebastien Le Toux each have an assist to their credit.

With defender Jordan Harvey back in action for the Union, look for a solid performance from this back line in front of a partisan crowd. It will be up to Harvey, Danny Califf (assuming he is good health), Carlos Vales and Sheannon Williams to stifle David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Juan Pablo Angel.

Perhaps the most important player keep an eye on is Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon. He currently has a 4-2-1 record to go with a 75 percent save percentage and a 0.43 goals against average.

Mondragon's counterpart, Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, has a 3-1-3 record to go with 21 saves, an 80.8 percent save percentage and a 0.71 goals against average.

The Union's duo of Le Toux and Ruiz will need to be creative in their attack to get one past the Big Cat from Montego Bay.

As many already know, the Galaxy are led by the tandem of Landon Donovan and David Beckham. Donovan leads all Galaxy scorers with foul goals, while Beckham has five assists to his credit. Look for Mr. Becks to earn his share of set piece swings.

The Galaxy backline were tenacious in frustrating Philadelphia in their last meeting, a 1-0 victory at the Home Depot Center on April 2. But with Leonardo out due to injury, A.J. DeLaGarza will need to step it up.

Look for central defender Omar Gonzalez to do what Omar Gonzalez does best. He did relatively well in marking New York's Thierry Henry and will look to do more of the same on Wednesday.

Juan Pablo Angel has not been the same Juan Pablo Angel that scored goals in bunches last year. One can imagine that the home fans are growing rather restless with the Colombia international's inability to produce.

The jury is still out. Chad Barrett and Juninho will need to play a factor in this contest and create chances to score.

Prediction:
A tough atmosphere at PPL Park is nothing the Galaxy can't handle. Last season, they also won 1-0 in this facility, and it should be more of the same.

Los Angeles Galaxy 1, Philadelphia Union 0

Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports West.


INS AND OUTS

Chicken Thief Number Two: Thierry Henry

Boy, I sure didn't figure that the French had appetites this big. The goal by Thierry Henry was typical of his style. Good touch, good finishing, and a little flair.

Of course, later in the first half he did some showboating on the dribble, but that's a different story...


Youth Academy Update

While it was a mixed bag for the first team, the youth academies were so lucky against the New York Cosmos.

Wait. The Cosmos are back? I kid. It's just the Cosmos Academy West. In any case, the Under-18s lost 2-0 and the Under-16s lost 1-0.

Can they bounce back? A couple of matches with the Irvine Strikers on Saturday, May 14, will tell the story.

The Under-18s kickoff at 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET and the Under-16s kickoff at 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET.


Replay, anyone?

What could have been the go-ahead goal from Landon Donovan for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 44th minute was ruled cleared by the New York Red Bulls's Tim Ream.

“It looked like it was in,” Donovan said. “I think we’re learning this year if we want to score a goal we really have to score two goals. If we want to score two goals we have to score three or four.

"It’s unfortunate. You would hope that at some point you have to think we’ll get the benefit of the doubt but it hasn’t happened yet.

There’s no chance the linesman could have been anywhere near the end line and I don’t expect them to. Obviously the referee can’t see it. It would have been a very easy one to look at and know whether it went in or not.

"We’ll see how many of those it takes and how many points teams lose before they figure it out.”

Note to Don Garber: get goal-line technology in ASAP. Save the referees some face. Or something...