Galaxy Answers Wake-Up Call

For the final 50 minutes Sunday, the Galaxy of 1999 looked like the 1998 squad, using dominant speed and nearly flawless passing to score a season-high five goals and keep pace in the Western Conference.

Cobi Jones had a goal and two assists for the Galaxy in a 5-2 win over New England before 14,323 at Foxboro Stadium.

Ezra Hendrickson and Clint Mathis, starting because of injuries to Paul Caligiuri and Simon Elliott, also scored for the Galaxy (10-7).

Thirty seconds after Joe-Max Moore scored for the Revolution (8-9) in the 39th minute, Mathis passed to Mauricio Cienfuegos in the midfield, then cut to the left and was open at the top of the box. He beat Revolution goalkeeper Walter Zenga.

The goal was the team-high sixth for Mathis. It was also the Galaxy’s lone bright spot in a dismal first half.

“In the first half, the Revolution outplayed us to a large extent,” said Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid, whose team--while tied, 1-1--was outshot, 8-4, in the first 45 minutes and was often beaten defensively. “We went to a lot more one-on-one battles and tried to exploit Cobi’s speed in the second half.”

The strategy worked.

In the 63rd minute, Jones took a pass from Cienfuegos and was alone with Zenga on the left side of the net. When Zenga came out to meet Jones, he slid a crossing pass in front of the net, where three Galaxy players were waiting. Hendrickson put it home.

“Every time I step out there I want to make the coaches’ decision look right,” said Hendrickson, who started because Caligiuri was still slowed because of a strained groin. “The first half was hard-fought, with hard tackling. The second half we wore them down.”

After Moore scored his second goal of the game, and 10th of the season, on a penalty kick in the 66th minute to tie it, 2-2, the Revolution broke down.

Roy Myers scored in the 73rd minute, extending his streak of games with a goal or an assist to five. Jones beat Zenga in the 85th on a perfect crossing pass from Hendrickson. Then Jones fed Hermosillo in the 90th minute to complete the scoring.

Jones’ goal, which he punctuated with a small dance, incited a small tussle when Zenga went face-to-face with him before pushing him. Nothing else happened, but it was the culmination of a long half for Zenga.

The Galaxy put up eight shots, seven on goal, in the final 45 minutes. Two of those shots were by Jones, who spent much of the second half charging Zenga with the ball.

“The Cobi Jones that played in the second half is the one I always want playing,” Schmid said.

Jones, who hurried to Denver where he and Galaxy captain Robin Fraser will be practicing with the national team, said he hadn’t been slumping, but it was nice to finally have a game people expect from him.

Along with the Jones-Zenga confrontation, there were five yellow cards and 29 fouls called.

The victory was also big in that the Galaxy remained four points behind Dallas and Chicago in the Western Conference. Both are tied for second with 28 points. Colorado leads the conference.

“That was huge for us,” Mathis said. “It’s good to stay up in the standings. We have games left against Dallas, Chicago and Colorado, so we can still make up plenty of points.”