O Defense, Where Art Thou?
The Galaxy took on the visiting Red Bull New York in front of a sold out crowd at The Home Depot Center last night.
The home side started out on a furious pace, highlighted by Galaxy forward Alan Gordon putting one into the back of the net only three minutes into the match. However, Gordon was ruled offside and the goal was disallowed. It seemed that the missed opportunity was about to haunt the Galaxy when, at the 17th minute mark, Red Bull forward Jozy Altidore almost walked into the goal with the ball after having dribbled past two Galaxy defenders. Galaxy midfielder Brandon McDonald saved the day for the blue-and-gold by sticking out a foot to take possession of the ball just as Altidore was winding up for a shot.
McDonald's heroics merely delayed the Red Bull's first goal. As the 21st minute approached, Jozy Altidore received a ball in the Galaxy area and he unleashed a hard shot at close range. Galaxy 'keeper Steve Cronin was up to the challenge and made a great save on the shot. However, Bull's midfielder Danleigh Borman pounced on the rebound in front of the empty goal and put the Bulls ahead 1 - 0.
Following Borman's goal, the Galaxy seemed to be out of sync and were unable to complete passes in the midfield. Conversely, the Bulls kept pace with the Galaxy and few scoring opportunities presented themselves for either team. The game was sloppy in the midfield and as if bad passing wasn't enough, the teams also had to contend with the sub-par officiating of Alex Prus, who missed at least 4 - 5 hand balls throughout the pitch, some in potentially dangerous areas for either team. Galaxy midfielders David Beckham and Brandon McDonald were noticeably annoyed at the officiating, with the former being the most vocal.
Around the 30th minute, the Galaxy offense started to click a bit better, generating a few more scoring opportunities and making the game a bit more fluid. As the half closed out, the Galaxy earned a corner kick on the right side of the attack. Beckham sent the cross in and Gordon just missed the goal as he rose above everyone to get a head on the ball.
The second half showcased an improved Galaxy attack, but the game was also a bit choppy at times.
Galaxy midfielder Mike Randolph had the biggest impact on the offense, providing service into the Bull's penalty box from his left wing position, but none of his teammates were able to pick up any of the crosses. Although the Galaxy were getting closer, they continued to have a difficult time getting clean shots on goal or penetrating the Bull's penalty area. In addition, Beckham was unusually imprecise with his passing most of the night, but worse, except for his corner in the 43rd minute, his corner kicks were sub-par and presented little threat to the Bull's goal.
The Galaxy's inherit defensive weaknesses became more apparent as the second half wore on.
Although the Bulls did not produce too many opportunities, Bull's forward Juan Pablo Angel managed to break in on goal at the 64th minute. Cronin played the ball well and kept the score at 1 - 0. Angel repeated his efforts at the 74th minute, but his shot from the top of the box was once again stopped by Cronin.
In the 77th minute, the Galaxy's offensive pressure finally produced results when Randolph sent in a cross to Gordon in front of the Bull's goal. Gordon received the ball with his back to the goal, but then made a clever move to turn while fighting off two Bulls defenders. Now facing the goal, he tapped the ball into the bottom right corner, bringing the Galaxy even at one.
As is tradition following a Galaxy goal, confetti rained down onto the field as part of the celebration. Before it could stop raining blue-and-gold confetti, the Galaxy once again found themselves down by a goal.
Upon restarting after Gordon's goal, the Galaxy midfield and defense completely disappeared. The Bull's Dane Richards picked up a ball in his own half and ran right through the midfield nearly unchallenged. The Galaxy's McDonald gave chase but was unable to make a clean challenge. Richards eventually connected with Angel who got behind two Galaxy defenders on a run towards the Galaxy penalty area. Angel showed his class by also beating 'keeper Cronin, then calmly putting the ball into the back of the net past Galaxy defender Greg Vanney.
This was the type of goal that frustrates fans and coaches alike as it seemed to be more due to lack of concentration rather than lack of skill or ability.
Nevertheless, it seemed as though the blue-and-gold would pull even at the 79th minute when Galaxy forward Landon Donovan received a ball from Beckham at the top of the box. Donovan split two defenders, but failed to control the ball well. The ball then rolled to 'keeper Conway's hands who smothered it and eliminated the threat.
The Galaxy attack kept gaining momentum and Randolph nearly tied the scored once again when he headed a cross towards the Bull's goal. Bull's 'keeper Conway was well positioned and easily stopped the shot, but Randolph would be back at the 84th minute taking a hard shot from close range. Conway made a great save on the shot, preserving the lead for the Bulls.
After 4 minutes of injury time, the game ended, giving the visitors their third win of the season, and the Galaxy their third loss.
The sloppiness in the midfield throughout the first half took a bit away from the game, but once the Galaxy offense started to click again, the game became more entertaining. However, the Bull's final goal highlights the commonly observed weakness of the Galaxy: defense. In short, opposing players should not be able to run unchallenged from their own half and into the Galaxy defensive third virtually untouched.
Hopefully things will turn out better next week.
Photo by jcardinal18 via Flickr