‘B’ Team Too Much for Galaxy
It was a sad spectacle at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night, watching the Western Conference-leading Galaxy first reduced to an afterthought, then merely practice fodder for the D.C. United reserves.
With seven starters beginning the match on the bench and three more removed from the lineup at halftime, United’s second team--the D.C. Bs--sliced up the Galaxy regulars, 2-0, in front of an announced crowd of 29,161.
In a matchup that paired Major League Soccer’s two conference leaders, United Coach Thomas Rongen sent forth a starting lineup devoid of the league’s leading scorer (Roy Lassiter), four other starters who have played for the U.S. national team (Jeff Agoos, Ben Olsen, Carlos Llamosa and Richie Williams), the league’s 1998 most valuable player (Marco Etcheverry) and high-scoring forward Jaime Moreno.
Reason: D.C. United is entered in next week’s CONCACAF Champions Cup, a six-day tournament featuring the eight top club teams from North America. Should United win the event, it will earn a berth in January’s FIFA World Club Championship, pitting D.C. against the likes of European powers Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Man U versus D.C. U?
The very idea was tantalizing enough for Rongen to gut his regular lineup in an MLS showcase matchup in order to rest his key starters. Instead of the usual corps of MLS all-stars, United’s opening lineup included such names as Carey Talley, Clint Peay, Geoff Aunger, Antonio Otero, Jason Moore, Chris Albright and A.J. Wood.
It seemed like a fine night for the Galaxy to add to its first-place lead over Colorado--the Rapids earned one point Saturday with a 1-0 shootout victory over Kansas City--but instead, goals by Wood in the 17th minute and Peay in the 56th left the Galaxy stunned and staggered and now only one point ahead of the Rapids, who visit the Rose Bowl on Wednesday night.
“Obviously, this was not our best game,” Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said. “We’re disappointed with the result. . . . We had a number of players who played below their abilities today.”
Rongen had been criticized for seeming to place more significance on a nonleague tournament than a marquee MLS matchup, but the final score burning on the Rose Bowl scoreboard provided him fairly air-tight support.
“We wanted to field a team that could compete today and get three points and we did,” Rongen said. “It’s very gratifying to see some of the young players really step up and play. . . .
“We’re very, very deep from a quality standpoint. I think that showed tonight. We accomplished a lot: We got three points--which was our No. 1 priority--and we rested several starters for the CONCACAF tournament.”
MLS Commissioner Don Garber, watching the match from the Rose Bowl press box, had mixed feelings about Rongen’s strategy in preparation for the Champions Cup.
“It’s part of the sport,” Garber said. “As you’ve seen in England, with Manchester United opting out of the FA Cup [England’s prestigious domestic tournament] in order to compete in the World Club Championship.
“Obviously, you like to think your teams are always putting their best team forward during the regular season. But at the same time, I can see the value of resting players and being well-prepared for the Champions Cup. Having one of our teams perform really well in that tournament is very important for the credibility of our league. It’s a double-edged sword.”
And it was difficult to argue with those numbers: United 2, Galaxy 0.
“It certainly didn’t affect their performance tonight,” Garber said of D.C.’s reserve-laden lineup. “I’m not so sure the fans here didn’t see a great game of soccer. D.C. certainly put a good enough team on the field.”
Schmid concurred with that.
“Sometimes it’s harder playing against that group than the first team,” Schmid said. “When the first team is out there, those are guys you know. You know what they’re going to do. They’re a lot more predictable. When [the reserves] are out there, you’ve got guys who are playing all out because they know this is their chance to make a mark.”
