Galaxy Parts With Grabavoy, Ngwenya
In a move intended to shore up its foundering offense, the Galaxy traded playmaking midfielder Ned Grabavoy and forward Joseph Ngwenya to the Columbus Crew on Friday for attacking midfielder Kyle Martino and forward John Wolyniec.
To complete the trade and still stay under the salary cap, the Galaxy, which plays Real Salt Lake tonight at the Home Depot Center, also had to release Brian Dunseth, the defender it acquired from Chivas USA just before the season began.
Ngwenya is from Zimbabwe, and to make room for another international player, Crew Coach Sigi Schmid waived New Zealand midfielder Duncan Houghton.
The decision to trade Grabavoy seems curious.
Acquired as a second-round draft choice in 2004 when Schmid was still the Galaxy’s coach, the former Indiana University standout had been among the most lively and creative of the Galaxy’s players over the last two years.
Galaxy Coach Steve Sampson had praised his play this week, in the wake of a 1-0 loss at FC Dallas on Wednesday night when Grabavoy came on in the first half after forward Herculez Gomez had sprained his knee.
“I thought Ned came in and held the ball beautifully for us,” Sampson said. “We were able to play through him on the left side effectively. He has a different look than Herculez and I think he allowed us to penetrate even more, once he came on the field. I was quite happy with his play.”
Two days later, Grabavoy was on his way to Columbus.
In 38 regular-season and playoff games for the Galaxy, he scored two goals and assisted on six more.
Ngwenya, a first-round choice by Schmid in the 2004 draft and the third player taken overall, played a total of 41 games for Los Angeles, scoring four goals and assisting on two others.
GALAXY TONIGHT
vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30, FSNW
Site -- Home Depot Center.
Radio -- 830, 1700.
Records -- Galaxy 2-4-1, Real Salt Lake 0-5-1.
Record vs. Real Salt Lake -- 1-0.
Update -- This is the first of at least seven matches the Galaxy will have to play without its World Cup trio of starters: Landon Donovan, Chris Albright and Cornell Glen. Real Salt Lake will be without starting defenders Eddie Pope and Douglas Sequeira for the same reason. The Galaxy edged Real, 3-2, two weeks ago at Salt Lake City. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was dropped for that match, just as he was for Wednesday night’s 1-0 loss at FC Dallas. Hartman is expected to start tonight.
Tickets -- (877) 342-5299.
CHIVAS USA TODAY
at New England, 4 p.m., no TV
Site -- Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Radio -- 1020.
Records -- Chivas USA 1-2-1, Revolution 2-2-1.
Record vs Revolution -- (2005) 1-1.
Update -- Two bye weeks in the last month have disrupted Chivas USA’s rhythm. The team has played only one MLS game since mid-April. This will be Chivas’ first game without defender Claudio Suarez and midfielder John O’Brien, both of whom are with their World Cup teams. Similarly, New England will be minus midfielder Clint Dempsey and defender Avery John. The Revolution lost midfielder Daniel Hernandez for tonight’s game when he suffered a left ankle sprain in a 4-0 victory over the Galaxy last Saturday.
