Los Angeles Galaxy vs. D.C. United: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)
T-180 minutes to kickoff: I love Abraham Maslow, and his concept of self-actualization. Now he defines this as follows, so allow me to clear my throat before I utter these words. Ahem.
"[Self-actualization is] the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for him [the individual] to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming."
T-170: In the case of Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, they are a team capable of winning an MLS Supporters' Shield. But they have to keep winning. They have to deliver results. To have the desire to be the holder of the Shield is not enough. This side must get the results to back it up.
One of those opportunities to get said results is tonight against the laggards of Major League Soccer, Ben Olsen's D.C. United, who are a horrendous 5-16-3 (18 points) and are essentially playing for pride and for a morale boost heading into next season.
T-160: Many people far and wide that I have stumbled on across the interwebs have been lamenting the renewed press coverage of David Beckham, and how it has upstaged the game. I do not believe it has upstaged things at all. I mean, the man came in long after the outcome was no longer in doubt.
What, you actually thought that the Columbus Crew were really going to rally after Andres Mendoza scored a gift late in the second half?T-150: Oh yes, speaking of the Crew, there was some action in CONCACAF Champions League for Columbus and the Seattle Sounders. The Crew were taking on Trinidad & Tobago's Joe Public FC while the Sounders took on Deportivo Saprissa.
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Columbus shut out Joe Public 3-0, but Seattle wasn't as lucky. With the 2-0 defeat, the Sounders may as well have crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League in unceremonious fashion.
T-140: Chivas USA, meanwhile, hosted Chivas de Guadalajara (yes, the REAL Chivas) at San Diego's PETCO Park on Tuesday in the renewal of the ChivaClásico. After a scoreless draw, would you believe this—they beat Guadalajara on penalties 4-2.
It's safe to say that the REAL Chivas won't be taking the Apertura this year with that performance...
T-130: Also this week in CONCACAF Champions League play, Real Salt Lake took on Toronto FC with RSL routing the Canadian champions 4-1.
In MLS play, the San Jose Earthquakes faced off against the Philadelphia Union and red-hot FC Dallas took on the Galaxy's next opponent, Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls. San Jose took down the Union 1-0, while FC Dallas and New York played to a 1-1 draw.
T-120: Two hours to kickoff. In other MLS action today, Real Salt Lake faced the Chicago Fire, the Crew took on Seattle in a possible preview of the 2010 U.S. Open Cup Final, Houston Dynamo clashed with Toronto FC, and the Colorado Rapids squared off with the New England Revolution.
Tomorrow, Chivas USA returns to MLS play at the Home Depot Center against the Kansas City Wizards.
T-110: Final score from Sandy's Rio Tinto Stadium: Real Salt Lake 1, Chicago Fire 0.
T-100: Already past halftime at Crew Stadium, and Seattle is pounding Columbus 3-0. Mercy.
T-95: The Dynamo now leading Toronto FC 1-0 at Robertson Stadium.
T-90: A question comes ringing in my head like a doorbell pressed by my next door neighbor just a-walking down the street singing doo-wa-diddy diddy-dum diddy-doo: Will David Beckham start tonight?
T-80: Seattle is grilling Columbus to ashes 4-0 thanks to a hat trick from Blaise Nkufo.
T-70: Grounds crew giving the surface a shine.
T-60: Final score from Columbus: Seattle Sounders 4, Columbus Crew 0. Colorado now leading New England 1-0. One hour to the big show down here at Victoria Street.
T-50: A rather casual turnout I think will be on the cards tonight.It's time for the line-ups.
T-45: Colorado now leads New England 2-0 in the first half. Players now warming up.
T-40: And Yohance Marshall gets his first career start in the strip of the Galaxy. Congrats, young Soca Warrior.
T-35: It's now 1-1 between Toronto and Houston. TFC equalize.
T;30: Baldomero Toledo is our match official today. Craig Lowry and C.J. Morgante are the linesmen and Ricardo Salazar is our fourth official.
T-15: Warm-ups complete. Parade of champions forthcoming.
T-0: National anthem by Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Choir...San Manuel Department of Public Safety with tonight's colors. There was going to be a ceremony honoring Moreno, but he is injured and won't make the trip.
So much for that.
FIRST HALF START: 7:37 P.M. PT
1' - Showtime! We are officially underway. Any chicken thieves from D.C. in the house? Hungry capitalists...stay tuned. Throw-in for the G's.
2' - D.C. will wise to amp up their possession. Dubious pass from Juninho. Look out for Hurricane Igor, East Coast.
3' - Lousy pass. But Donovan Ricketts is there for the grab. Troy Perkins counters with a grab of his own. And Juninho stumbles on the damp surface.
4' - Little syncopation in order between the LA Riot Squad and Angel City Brigade.
5' - Here is Landon Donovan with the first corner of the night. Timing was off. Back come D.C. United. A bullet well-dodged from Danny Allsopp, the former Melbourne Victory striker. As those of you in the antipodes should know, Allsopp helped lead Victory to two A-League titles.
6' - Nowadays they aren't as good as they were, but they're still fighting. I send my regards.
7' - Back come the G's. And that pass for Sean Franklin fails to connect. Goal kick, Perkins. Omar Gonzales was walking the tightrope on that one.
8' - This is Gonzales with the throw. Free kick time. Jed Zayner with the foul.
9' - It's Cazumba, and Perkins with the two-fister. Textbook clearance.
10' - United now on possession. Perkins resets. You would be crazy to think there aren't any D.C. supporters tonight in Sandy...throw-in for D.C.
11' - Oh and they brought the marching band, too. Darn Peninsula High...offsides, D.C. United.
12' - This Galaxy team needs to kick the age-old nasty habit of getting beat in the transition. Jovan Kirovski (and his pirate beard) with the foul. Yohance Marshall, fresh from Austin, with the touch.
13' - This is Franklin with the throw. Not a good header from Kirovski; goal kick Perkins. This is Pablo Hernandez for D.C.
14' - Zayner with the throw-in. Patchwork defending. Too long a pass for Landon Donovan. Goal kick, Troy Perkins.
15' - Offsides, D.C.'s Pablo Hernandez.
16' - And it looks like Ricketts will need to reset the distribution. Kirovski getting marked. Kurt Morsink pushes that aside.
17' - D.C. now on the transition. Speculative shot from Julius James.
18' - Still early, and it's still scoreless. That was a terrible offensive stanza from D.C., and some lucky defending from LA.
19' - I realize that in this league, the teams that aren't doing as well get that rush of adrenaline when they take on a team ranked above them.
20' - Now what was Alex Cazumba thinking when making that extra pass? Just shoot it!
21' - Franklin with the throw-in. Kirovski being a bit overpursuant in the challenge for the ball. Perkins goes off his line, and he clears again.
22' - Ricketts was beat on that chance for Santino Quaranta. I guess I can now see why they are at the bottom of the league...this side just can't finish.
23' - Well, at least the effort was there. Free kick time.
24' - And Buddle should have done better on the delivery from Cazumba. Goal kick, Perkins.
25' - We are 25 in, and it's still scoreless. Zayner won't get a break from Baldomero Toledo. Goal kick, Ricketts.
26' - So far, the passing hasn't been consistent as last week. And thus, the word "perseverance" comes into play. Zayner with the grab.
27' - D.C. in transition, and that was too high a shot for Zayner. Juninho slips on the surface, and back come United.
28' - Ricketts with the grab. Some arguments on the pitch; Toledo restores order, play on.
29' - Worst-case scenario could be on the way for Mr. Beckham.
30' - This is Julius James with the free kick. Thank you very much, says Donovan Ricketts. End-to-end defense, with Perkins taking that.
31' - I am getting a bad gut feeling about this complacency level from the G's. Makes me wonder.
32' - Buddle and Juninho were off on that pass. This is United, back on possession.
33' - This back line can't get a break tonight. LA now resets the next stanza. Edson Buddle, marked by Julius James.
34' - Zayner with the throw-in, and La Barra Brava took the time to visit Victoria Street.
35' - Alex Cazumba got jammed. I am sure there will be some stuff for Bruce Arena and company to talk about at the break...
36' - Too long for Todd Dunivant, but the G's get it back for their next sequence.
37' - It's now a battle of ball possession. Toledo is letting the players play, apparently. Good challenge from Quaranta.
38' - That's a rash challenge on Dunivant, but no card. Offsides, Kirovski.
39' - Yellow card 4 Omar Gonzalez
Los Angeles Galaxy
He'll be out next week against the New York Red Bulls. Not good.
This is a free kick for D.C. And that is jammed.
40' - 40 minutes in, and it's still scoreless.
41' - Edson Buddle called offsides after the ricochet off the Troy Perkins goal kick.
42' - Perkins with the grab.
43' - Gonzalez with a dubious clearance.
44' - And that was a near-howler from Ricketts off the Hernandez shot. Easy catch for Perkins.
45' - These lousy finishes will be the death of me. I swear it. One minute of additional time.Not the best of first halves. Adjustments will be in order. In all honesty, LA should really be down 2-0 at this point.
In other scores, Toronto downs Houston 2-1, while New England got shut out by Colorado 3-0. Now, your...
HALFTIME STATS:
Shots
D.C. United 6
Los Angeles Galaxy 6
Shots on Goal
D.C. United 1
Los Angeles Galaxy 3
Saves
D.C. United 3
Los Angeles Galaxy 1
Fouls
D.C. United 4
Los Angeles Galaxy 6
Corner Kicks
D.C. United 0
Los Angeles Galaxy 2
Offsides
D.C. United 2
Los Angeles Galaxy 4
SECOND HALF START: 8:40 P.M. PT
46' - The second half is underway. Let's see if we have any adjustments put into play.
Substitution D.C. United
IN 27 Branko Boskovic
OUT 20 Stephen King
Dunivant with the throw-in.
47' - D.C. is doing very well with the possession early this half.
48' - Here's Dunivant again. Well, Allsopp lost the ball cleanly, but Toledo will call the foul. Hernandez with the free kick. Cleared.
49' - Kurt Morsink resets. Heads-up clearance from Ricketts.
50' - I will go on the record to say this: marching bands and supporters groups chanting do not mix. Free kick, D.C.
51' - Todd Dunivant asks for help. Too high a shot for Quaranta.
Here he comes...meanwhile, Kirovski is jammed. Too long for Andy Najar.
52' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 23 David Beckham
OUT 9 Jovan Kirovski
I don't think we'll see him starting next week against RBNY, but we'll see.
53' - Passing was off on that sequence for the G's.
54' - And Edson Buddle...man! That was a drag. Goal kick, Perkins.
55' - Dejan Jakovic with the mark on Edson Buddle. The No. 14 for LA is now stepping things up.
56' - This Dejan Jakovic fellow is starting to impress me tonight. That's another sequence he broke up.
57' - Where has this D.C. defense been all season? Ricketts making another tightrope save. Oath, he has been walking a tightrope all game.
58' - Julius James gets the benefit of the doubt there on Alex Cazumba.
59' - No dice for Danny Allsopp...or Edson Buddle. Predictable delivery in, but also a predictable bad finishing.
60' - GOAL! D.C. United 14 Andy Najar
Here we go again with the goals given up...and I have to wonder if this going to be a habit.
62' - Yellow card 5 Yohance Marshall
Los Angeles Galaxy
63' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 6 Eddie Lewis
OUT 88 Alex Cazumba
64' - I had a gut feeling that we were going to pay for the lack of finishing.
65' - And Sean Franklin took a bad knock, but he is fine.
66' - So now the boys have to play a man down, and with the way things are going right now, the men at Real Salt Lake are going to be at the top overall heading into next weekend's set of matches.
68' - We are 68 minutes into the match and it's 1-0 D.C. United.
69' - This is textwork defending from the visitors.
70' - Too wide. This will be a goal kick for Donovan Ricketts.
71' - This Los Angeles Galaxy side seems a bit discombobulated at this point.
72' - Corner for Donovan. Cleared, and it's David Beckham with a throw-in.
73' - LA is still looking for the equalizer...
74' - ...as the passing continues to get broken up at will.
75' - Juninho with a terrible shot. Goal kick, Troy Perkins.
76' - 20,094 were in attendance at tonight's match. You know, I think that's within our range.
77' - I have a bad feeling that time will be running out on this side with the way things are going.
78' - Ricketts with a diving save. A brave performance, in spite of the outcome as it is.
Substitution D.C. United
IN 19 Clyde Simms
OUT 9 Danny Allsopp
79' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 17 Tristan Bowen
OUT 19 Juninho
80' - Thus, at the rate things are going, home field advantage will mean little in this season meeting, but that can all change...
(Ricketts with the grab.)
81' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 10 Landon Donovan
...or maybe not. Terrible defense by D.C. United.
82' - This goal was Donovan's sixth of the season.
83' - We are now 83 minutes into the match, which is now 1-1. And that was a questionable pass from Beckham.
84' - This will all go down to better ball possession.
85' - There's a save from Ricketts.
86' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 10 Landon Donovan Assist 17 Tristan Bowen
And that's Landon's seventh of the year. Watch out Edson, the No. 10 wants a piece of the pie. All signs point to the first come-from-behind victory of the season for the Galaxy.
87' - Yellow card 10 Landon Donovan
Los Angeles Galaxy
It's getting a little chippy down there.
88' - Well, that was a lousy finish. Goal kick from Ricketts.
89' - This is going to be one heck of a finish.
90' - Substitution D.C. United
IN 11 Carlos Varela
OUT 6 Kurt Norsink
We are going to have three minutes of stoppage time.
90' + 1' - Almost got that breakaway to work.
90' + 2' - Maybe they will have time for one more shot?90' + 3' - And Hernandez is limping a bit. It's not gonna matter much in the end. That does it!
Stay tuned for my take on this match on the View from Victoria Street and on Bleacher Report.
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