Galaxy Salvage Tie
Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez beats Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven to the ball during Sunday's match. Photo by AP.
Galaxy midfielder Eddie Lewis scored late in the game to salvage a 1 - 1 tie for the Galaxy on Sunday afternoon against the Columbus Crew at the Home Depot Center.
Lewis' opportunity came as a result of another strong performance by Galaxy 'keeper Donovan Ricketts. Ricketts made multiple quality saves throughout the game that kept the visitors at bay and the blue-and-gold within striking distance.
The Galaxy 'keeper was called into action early as the Crew looked the more dangerous side from the start. However, despite a shaky start, the Galaxy built some momentum for themselves as the half wore on and generated a few opportunities. By the final 10 - 15 minutes of the first half, the blue-and-gold were controlling a larger share of the game, but were not able to score and went into the break tied at zero.
At the break, Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena made an unusual substitution, bringing in veteran defender Tony Sanneh for Sean Franklin who had put in a good performance up to that point. The change would prove costly as Sanneh would later give up possession just outside the Galaxy penalty area to none other than 2008 MLS MVP Guillermo Guille Barros Schelotto. Ricketts tried to pull out another miraculous save on the resulting one-on-one, but Guille buried it, giving the visitors the lead at the 70th minute.
L.A. looked out of sorts and disorganized for most of the second half, showing little resemblance to their play in the final 10 of the first 45. Struggling in the midfield and offensive third, the blue-and-gold generated few scoring opportunities, but Ricketts kept the Crew from extending their lead beyond one goal.
In the closing minutes of the match, the blue-and-gold woke up and started to generate some offense. However, as has been the case a bit too often for the last few seasons, plays would fizzle out in the offensive third without a shot being registered. The game would open more after Crew defender Danny O'Rourke collected two yellow cards in a three minute span and consequently got ejected from the game.
With the Crew a man short, the Galaxy generated more opportunities through the remainder of the half and into stoppage. Lewis' goal would come a bit into stoppage time when a Columbus clearance ended up at his feet about 25 yards out from the Crew goal. The U.S. Men's National Team veteran blasted a great low hanging shot that sailed directly into the net, bringing the teams even and extending the Galaxy's undefeated streak to 7 games.
As a final side note, one of the most amusing sites at Sunday's game was a fan wearing a #23 Galaxy jersey which read "F-CKHAM" on the back. David Beckham's return in July will certainly be memorable.