Galaxy Wants to Avoid a Close Call
Two years ago, it was probably the most unusual and thrilling encounter in Major League Soccer history.
The Galaxy had come to San Jose for a playoff game against the Earthquakes holding a two-goal lead in the two-game, total-goals series. Within 13 minutes, that two-goal lead became a four-goal lead.
And then, almost out of nowhere, the Earthquakes scored five unanswered goals.
So much for the Galaxy’s 2003 season. The Earthquakes won the game, 5-2, and the series, 5-4 on aggregate, and went on to become MLS champions that year.
Tonight, the Galaxy again comes into town with a two-goal edge, courtesy of Sunday’s 3-1 victory at the Home Depot Center. Tonight, the Earthquakes again have reason to believe they can erase it.
“If we’ve done it before, we can definitely do it again,” said midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. “I have no doubt in my mind that we can score two goals, if not three, and put them back on their heels. We play well at Spartan Stadium.
“We have to come with more intensity than we’ve had all year. We can’t just come out and say, ‘OK, we need to beat these guys.’ We’ve got to come out on fire.”
Intensity and fire.
Over in the Galaxy camp, Landon Donovan used the same words.
“My guess is they’re going to come out fired up,” he said. “They’re going to be intense. And they’re going to put a lot of pressure on us, especially early. Our job is to weather that and to make the most of our chances going the other way.
“I’m sure the game is going to look pretty one-sided at points.”
San Jose set an MLS record in the regular season by going undefeated at home (9-0-7), although the Galaxy did beat the Earthquakes, 1-0, at Spartan Stadium in a U.S. Open Cup match.
Can the Galaxy make the two-goal advantage stand up?
“That’s the plan,” Cobi Jones said earlier this week. “It’s difficult. Spartan’s a tough place to play. But we’ve won up there already in the Open Cup, so we have to have the attitude that we can go up there and win.”
The difference between 2003 and 2005 is that Donovan wears Galaxy gold, not Earthquake blue.
Donovan, who scored twice on Sunday -- thus providing the Galaxy with its edge -- revs his game up a notch or two when the playoffs arrive. In 15 playoff games since 2001, he has scored 12 goals.
“It gets me going, playing in these games,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious why. There’s more meaning to them. It’s more important. I thrive in this environment.”
San Jose goalkeeper Pat Onstad noticed Donovan’s greater involvement and higher work rate during Sunday’s game in Carson.
“He got on the ball as much as he could,” Onstad said. “The more touches he gets, the more effective he is, the more he brings other players into the game.”
Spartan Stadium has a considerably smaller playing surface than the Home Depot Center, with the fans almost within touching distance of players on the sidelines.
Cozy? Maybe. Challenging? Definitely.
“It’s huge,” Donovan said of the advantage the smallest field in the league gives the Earthquakes. “That game two years ago, I don’t think that happens anywhere else, on any other field.
“The proximity means you can hit a ball from anywhere and it’s dangerous. They’ve got three physical, pretty big forwards,” he said in reference to Brian Ching, Ronald Cerritos and Alejandro Moreno. “When you put the ball in front of the net, people are in there challenging. When it falls down to someone, you get a chance” to score.
“You can get 15 chances like that a game,” Donovan added. “You can’t give them time to serve the ball. You can’t give them time to pick the pass they want to make. If they can do that, we’re going to get pummeled.”
TONIGHT
at San Jose, 7, FSNW2
Site -- Spartan Stadium.
Radio -- 830, 1540.
Records (regular season) -- Galaxy 13-13-6, Earthquakes 18-4-10.
Record vs. Earthquakes (2005 playoffs) -- 1-0.
Update -- A victory or a tie would put the Galaxy into the Western Conference final. The Galaxy could lose and still advance, as long as it did not lose by more than one goal. If the Earthquakes win by two and the aggregate score is tied at the end of 90 minutes, a 30-minute overtime will be played. If the match still is tied, it will be decided by penalty kicks. How important is the first goal? This season, the Earthquakes are 14-0-5 when scoring first and the Galaxy is 0-12-1 when giving up the first goal.
