Galaxy Rises, Thanks to Myers : Soccer: He scores twice as L.A. moves into first-place tie in conference with 3-1 win over Clash.
When Sigi Schmid initiated the trade that brought Roy Myers to the Galaxy three months ago, his intent was to provide some backup for Mauricio Cienfuegos.
“We felt we needed one more midfielder in case there was an injury to Mauricio,” Schmid said, “and we also felt we needed somebody who could be a playmaker when teams shut him [Cienfuegos] down.
“Roy has certainly given us that.”
And more.
On Wednesday night, in front of a Rose Bowl crowd of 8,662, the 30-year-old Costa Rican scored his third and fourth goals of the season as the Galaxy defeated the San Jose Clash, 3-1.
The two goals, plus another by Greg Vanney, propelled the Galaxy into a tie for first place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference and all but secured it a berth in the playoffs.
One more Galaxy victory in the final seven games of the regular season will clinch a playoff berth.
“I thought Roy Myers came back tonight and played a very good game,” Schmid said. “He had really had an off game in Dallas [in a 1-0 loss on Saturday]. His two goals were well deserved.”
Myers, who might have been languishing in last place in the Eastern Conference with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars had the Galaxy not acquired him on June 1, agreed that his performance against the Burn had lacked something.
“I didn’t play well, but he [Schmid] told me he had a lot confidence in me and I tried to prove that I could do better.
“I feel great,” he said. “I had a good game. We’re in first place now, tied with Colorado, and that’s what we want.”
Myers’ first goal came in the second minute.
A corner kick by Vanney was punched away by Clash goalkeeper Joe Cannon. The ball fell to Cobi Jones, who passed to Danny Pena. Pena played the ball back to Myers and his shot bounced in off the right post.
“A coach I once worked with said the worst lead in soccer is an early goal,” Schmid said, “but I always think early goals are good. I’d rather be up, 1-0, than down, 1-0.”
The Galaxy was up, 2-0, after an exchanges of passes between Carlos Hermosillo and Myers led to Myers’ second goal in the 58th minute.
The Clash cut the lead to 2-1 when Alejandro Sequeira scored a minute later on a goal that looked suspiciously offside, but Vanney made sure of the victory in the 71st minute, scoring the first penalty kick goal of his MLS career after Wade Barrett had fouled Clint Mathis.
Mathis returned after being sidelined a month following knee surgery.
Surprisingly, the early goal did not lead to others. At least not in the first half. Instead, it was the goalkeepers who stepped up their game.
The Galaxy’s Kevin Hartman, seeking his ninth shutout, and the Clash’s Joe Cannon, both made several key saves. Cannon, who has lost twice to the Galaxy already this season, was especially sharp.
In the 15th minute, he did well to snag a close-range header from Simon Elliott off a cross by Jones.
And in the 28th, he did even better, getting down low quickly to smother a point-blank shot by Hermosillo off another Jones cross.
Hartman was only slightly less busy.
He made saves off a header by John Doyle and shots by Barrett and Sequeira to remain unbeaten after 45 minutes.
The second half saw both keepers lose their shutout bid.
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The Colorado Rapids of MLS and the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the A-League advanced to the final of the U.S. Open Cup Wednesday with victories in the semifinals.
The Rapids shut out the A-League’s Charlston Battery, 3-0, and the Rhinos upset the Columbus Crew of MLS, 3-2. Both games were played in Virginia Beach, Va. The final will be played Sept. 14 in Columbus, Ohio.
