Galaxy Keeps Rolling at Fusion’s Expense

Bagels, apparently, are the cause of the Miami Fusion’s downfall.

For the fourth game in a row, Major League Soccer’s Eastern Division leader was shut out, this time 2-0 by the Galaxy in front of 16,885 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night.

That extended Miami’s club-record scoreless streak to 405 minutes, and midfielder Henry Gutierrez sees no end in sight.

“We’ve obviously got to score a goal someday, but I don’t know what it’s going to take,” he said. “I have no idea. I can’t pinpoint one thing. With the forwards we have on our team, we should be losing games, 4-3, if we’re going to be losing.

“Right now to have four games in a row where we put bagels on the board, it’s a shame. It’s inexcusable.”

The Galaxy, meanwhile, continues to roll, not bagel.

Goals by Greg Vanney and Danny Pena were enough to secure the latest victory on a cool evening in Pasadena.

Despite remaining unbeaten at 4-0-2, the Galaxy still finds itself in second place in the Western Division because upstart Kansas City, a miserable 8-24 last season, is off to a 5-0-1 start this year. The Wizards shut out the Tampa Bay Mutiny, 1-0, Saturday night to also remain unbeaten, two points ahead of Los Angeles.

But the Galaxy is playing a solid brand of soccer at the moment. Its play flows, passes are crisp and on-target and there is an inventiveness about the team’s approach and execution.

Coach Sigi Schmid, however, isn’t totally convinced.

“I’m a coach, so I’m always not completely happy,” he said. “You always want to see [the team] be a little bit better, you want to see a little bit more.

“I still think sometimes we’re giving the ball away when we don’t need to. At times we knocked it around well tonight. But you’re always hoping for more. You’re always hoping basically for perfection. But I thought we did a decent job.”

The Galaxy, which is expected to sign Haitian forward Sebastian Vorbe on Monday, took the lead in unexpected fashion in the third minute.

A corner kick by Vanney floated into the penalty area, where Fusion defender Jay Heaps tugged at Los Angeles forward Clint Mathis’ jersey. Mathis made his fall more dramatic than was perhaps necessary, throwing his arms into the air to draw attention to the foul.

Referee Tim Weyland bought it and awarded the Galaxy a penalty kick, which Vanney promptly scored, driving the ball low to goalkeeper Garth Lagerway’s right.

The goal deflated a Fusion team that hasn’t been able to find the back of the net for weeks. This game was no different.

When referee Weyland signaled the end of the first half, it meant Miami had gone 360 minutes--or six interminable hours--without scoring.

The closest it came in the first 45 minutes was when Los Angeles goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and midfielder Roy Myers combined to make an improbable series of goal-line saves.

The sequence began with a corner kick by former Galaxy player Martin Machon. Heaps leaped to head the ball sharply downward and the ball beat Hartman but struck the right post. The rebound caught the falling Hartman on the foot and again caromed back against the right post.

Finally, Myers managed to clear it out of danger.

“You’ve got to dodge a few bullets like that in every game,” Schmid said.

Los Angeles came almost as close to scoring in the 43rd minute when Cobi Jones cut into the penalty area before sending a pass to Mathis. The forward’s shot slammed into the underside of crossbar and bounced down onto the goal-line.

Fusion goalkeeper Lagerwey lunged for it with his hands and Myers made a a similar move with his feet. The ball ended up in the net, but Weyland called a foul against Myers to disallow the goal.

Los Angeles doubled its lead in the 55th minute. A scramble in front of the Fusion net ended with Pena poking the ball in with the outside of his right foot.

It seems as easy as it sounds, but not for the Fusion.

Perhaps Miami needs to change its bakery.

Or its battery. Coach Ivo Wortman chose to leave Eric Wynalda, Diego Serna, Andy Williams and Gutierrez on the bench at the start. The shake-up didn’t help.

There was still a bagel on the board 90 minutes later.