Still a Tough Road for L.A.
Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid promised changes for his snake-bit team in Saturday’s Major League Soccer game against the Dallas Burn.
Schmid delivered on his promise, but the Galaxy delivered another tie, a 1-1 result in front of 8,085 at Southlake, Texas, keeping Los Angeles (0-4-2) winless as it inches closer to its June 7 home opener at the Home Depot Center after what will be an MLS record eight-game trip to start the season.
In what was arguably its most complete game, the Galaxy dominated the first 60-plus minutes before referee Ricardo Salazar made the second of two rather dubious yellow-card calls on defender Ezra Hendrickson, which resulted in an ejection and kept Los Angeles a man down for the last 25 minutes of regulation.
“I thought the red card was a bit harsh,” Schmid said.
“It was something that definitely made the game harder for us.”
Said midfielder Sasha Victorine: “It’s tough to go away and play a man down for that long and not give up something.”
Leading 1-0, the Galaxy gave up the tying goal in the 82nd minute when substitute Brad Davis, left alone at the top of the circle, took a pass and after one dribble fired a left-footed bender into the upper left corner that froze Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
“We did really well with the extra man moving the ball around and that enabled me to get free up top,” Davis said.
Midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos made his first appearance of the season for the Galaxy and paid immediate dividends, setting up numerous chances in the first half and giving his team an aggressiveness it seemed to have lacked the last few games.
After several close calls, the Galaxy ended its 302-minute goalless streak in the 43rd minute when Gavin Glinton -- another player Schmid promised to showcase -- rifled a volley from 25 yards off a corner kick that Dallas goalie D.J. Countess had no chance to stop.
But that wasn’t the Galaxy’s only opportunity. Los Angeles could have easily scored three or four times had it not been for Countess and several opportune plays on defense.
Twice the Galaxy had balls cleared off the line on headers -- a la Kristine Lilly for the U.S. in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final against China.
The first came in the 33rd minute when Alexi Lalas headed one toward the upper left corner that had sailed by Countess. But Oscar Pareja was positioned perfectly to deflect it away.
In the first minute of the second half, Cienfuegos took a cross from Jones that was tipped by Countess and pushed a shot toward the left corner, but Dallas’ Joselito Vaca headed the bouncing ball away to keep the Burn (0-2-3) down, 1-0.
