Dempsey Makes Difference
With at least eight potential World Cup players on the field at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night, it figured that one of the American hopefuls would make the decisive play.
Turns out Clint Dempsey was that player.
The Galaxy and New England Revolution had played 33 scoreless minutes in the Major League Soccer opener for both teams when Dempsey struck.
Powering his way through a crowd of players in the box, he headed Andy Dorman’s free kick sharply past Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to give the Revolution a 1-0 victory and a measure of revenge for last season’s 1-0 championship-game loss.
Referee Abiodun Okulaja had awarded the free kick after a foul on Joe Franchino by Galaxy midfielder Marcelo Saragosa just outside the box and to the left of the net.
The Galaxy had slightly the better of the first 45 minutes but failed to capitalize on its scoring opportunities in a half that produced only occasional flurries of decent soccer -- not surprising for this early in the season.
New England Coach Steve Nicol had said beforehand that he wanted the Revolution to maintain possession as much as possible.
“It’s important that we keep the ball,” he told the Boston Herald. “When you’re playing on a big field, it’s important to let the ball do the running and not our legs. That’s when possession becomes key.”
The Revolution didn’t heed the message too well, and giveaways were frequent.
The liveliest bit of soccer came in a four-minute spell just before Dempsey’s goaI.
In the 29th minute, Dorman and Hartman leaped in pursuit of a leaping shot by Dempsey, the ball eluded them both, however, and dropped into the back of the net. The referee nullified the apparent goal, ruling that Dorman had interfered with the Galaxy goalkeeper.
Moments later, Herculez Gomez sent a pass into the Revolution box intended for Landon Donovan. New England goalkeeper Matt Reiss came out to block Donovan’s progress and the ball squirted loose to Cobi Jones.
Jones’ shot from about six yards flew over the crossbar, however, and the chance was gone.
By the 65th minute, Galaxy fans in the sellout crowd signaled their displeasure with a few choruses of, “All we are saying, is give us a goal.”
It never came, and by the final whistle the fans were booing.
In the week leading up to the match, speculation in Boston and Los Angeles had been that Nicol, the Revolution coach, would tinker with his defense, switching from a three-man backline to a four-man defense.
“When they play out of a 4-4-2, I think that puts better players on the field,” Galaxy Coach Steve Sampson said Friday. “And I don’t think in that system they really have any weaknesses whatsoever.”
Nicol stuck with a three-man backline, however, and Jay Heaps, Daniel Hernandez and James Riley did the job, helping Reiss earn the shutout.
Before the match, the Galaxy players received the championship rings they earned by defeating the Revolution in overtime in MLS Cup 2005 in November.
The game also was preceded by a tribute in memory of Doug Hamilton, the team’s president and general manager, who died while flying home from a Galaxy CONCACAF Champions Cup game in Costa Rica last month.
