Machon Has Magic Touch and Galaxy Has a 4-2 Victory
Martin Machon had a feeling. It was one of those days the Galaxy midfielder knew he could score.
Only one problem: he wasn’t getting the ball.
“I was actually frustrated,” Machon said. “So I talked to the guys at halftime.”
His teammates took the hint and Machon made good with three second-half goals as the Galaxy defeated the Columbus Crew, 4-2, to remain unbeaten at 9-0.
Machon showed a little of everything on Sunday afternoon. He scored with dexterity. He scored with luck. He scored with smarts.
“Martin has a great sense for the game,” Galaxy Coach Octavio Zambrano said. “Those goals were being in the right place at the right time.”
And the timing could not have been better for the Galaxy, playing their first game since losing high-scoring Cobi Jones to the U.S. World Cup team and defender Dan Calichman because of a broken leg.
The Crew had problems too. Columbus was down six starters--four lost to the national team and two because of injury.
But the Crew had their home field, the venerable Ohio Stadium, a patch of turf roughly 10 yards narrower and 10 yards shorter than any other field in Major League Soccer.
“We were trying to get the ball behind the defense,” Zambrano said. “There was really no space to do it.”
While the Galaxy struggled, the Crew struck with the game’s first goal. In the 18th minute, rookie forward Jeff Cunningham received a pass with his back to the goal, turned and fired a shot inside the right post.
That gave the Crew a 1-0 halftime lead and gave the crowd of 10,854 hope for an upset.
“Our emotion carried us,” Columbus Coach Tom Fitzgerald said. “We had L.A. on the run.”
But the Galaxy made the needed adjustments at halftime. Namely, getting more chances for Machon. Although the Guatemalan native is no Cobi Jones, he showed he can do a decent imitation.
Just one minute into the second half, Machon came streaking down the field and deftly volleyed a cross from teammate Welton to tie the score.
Columbus answered with a go-ahead goal in the 50th minute--Marcelo Carrera glancing a shot off the crossbar--but Machon was just getting started.
On a wild play in front of the Columbus goal, he watched as Galaxy defender Danny Pena flicked a header that rebounded to teammate Clint Mathis, whose shot was deflected by Crew defender Ricardo Iribarren. The ball bounced to Machon, who headed it into an open net.
“You’re just watching the play and hoping we score,” he said. “It’s like a gift that soccer gives to you.”
The game-winning goal required more effort. It came in the 85th minute when Crew goalkeeper Mark Dougherty chose not to grab a loose ball, punching it away instead.
Mauricio Cienfuegos lofted a pass right back into the box. Machon sensed Dougherty was guarding the near post and nudged a header the other direction inside the far post for his first hat trick.
Columbus was eventually forced to mount an all-out attack with disastrous results. Mathis intercepted a pass from Crew midfielder Todd Yeagley and sent the ball ahead to Welton, who raced past the gambling defense for an easy score.
Not only did the Galaxy get its first win at Ohio Stadium, the team extended its regular-season unbeaten streak to 15 games over two seasons.
