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Galaxy forward Bryan Jordan made a strong case for his inclusion in the starting lineup last night as the blue-and-gold took on the conference leading Real Salt Lake in front of a sold out crowd of 27,000 at the Home Depot Center.
Missing David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Eddie Lewis and Ante Jazic due to national team duty, the Galaxy earlier in the week recalled several players from the Portland Timbers in order to provide additional options for Saturday's match. Jordan, a member of the recalled group, eventually made his way into the starting lineup and proved to be a key addition.
The game got off to a shaky start for the Galaxy when Salt Lake appeared to have taken the lead at the 5th minute, but their goal was annulled due to an apparent offside. The Galaxy quickly regrouped and began to pressure the Salt Lake goal. Only a few minutes later, Jordan's speed allowed him to jump on a free ball in front of the goal after Galaxy forward Edson Buddle had made a series of great moves to bring the ball into the penalty area. Jordan capitalized on the opportunity and scored his first career MLS goal to give the Galaxy the lead at the 9th minute.
Salt Lake battled back, and scored the equalizer when Yura Movsisyan found himself on a 1-on-1 against Galaxy 'keeper Josh Wicks a little over 10 minutes later. Both teams battled through the remainder of the first half, with Jordan regularly being involved, showing the heart and determination that has been missing all too often from Galaxy games in recent years. Both teams created good scoring opportunities for themselves, but neither was able to break the tie before halftime.
The second half saw much of the same action, with both teams creating quality chances for themselves. Salt Lake would eventually take the lead at the 52nd minute on a Will Johnson goal.
The Galaxy pressed forward, looking for the equalizer. Jordan would once again prove to be an important part of the effort, out hustling everyone else on the pitch and regularly contributing to the Galaxy attack. At the 69th minute, his efforts would pay off for the team as Jordan made his way into the 6 yard box before dishing the ball off to his left where Buddle picked it up and blasted it into the back of the net for his 13th goal of the season, tieing the game at 2.
The final 20 minutes featured several minutes of open, end-to-end play, but in the end, the teams settled for a tie.
For the Galaxy, their improvements are obvious. Despite missing so many starters, the team, and Jordan in particular, showed a lot of heart and determination. The unfortunate circumstance for Jordan is that when the starters do return, he might find it difficult to break into the starting eleven. Hopefully the team will find a place for him.
Things appear to be changing for the better with the team. Let's hope they continue down this road as the playoff races get tighter.
Photo by Katie@! via Flickr
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Was at that game..... lotta fun. :) 4 tickets for only 40 bucks.... booze and football.... what more could one ask for?
Definitely entertaining. When fans cheered after the first Galaxy goal, it seemed like people were cheering as though the Galaxy had won MLS Cup. I thought it was kind of funny, almost as though people had forgotten what it was like to get a goal.