Galaxy Still Hanging On
The Galaxy apparently is not ready to relinquish its Major League Soccer title just yet.
Needing a victory Saturday night, the defending league champion came through in emphatic fashion, scoring a rousing 3-0 win over rival Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center, the stadium the teams share.
Goals by Peter Vagenas in the first half and Landon Donovan and Alan Gordon in the second earned the Galaxy the lifeline it so desperately sought.
The team is still in last place in the Western Conference, but it is now only three points behind the Colorado Rapids, who occupy the fourth and final playoff spot.
Two games remain -- a home-and-home series against FC Dallas -- and even winning both of those would not guarantee the Galaxy (10-14-6) of keeping intact its record of never having been out of the playoffs.
But Coach Frank Yallop believes anything is possible.
“We’ve left it a little late, but as they proved last year at this club, things can happen going down to the last game,” he said. “Hopefully, we can take it to the last match. It’s here at home and we have a chance of making the playoffs if we get a win.
“We’ll see what the other results are, but we know we’ve got to win the two games.”
Chivas (10-8-12) could have clinched a playoff spot by winning, and even a tie would have meant it could not be overtaken by the Galaxy, but Coach Bob Bradley’s team was without a significant part of its starting lineup.
Losing the inspirational Francisco “Paco” Palencia to a season-ending injury less than two weeks ago was difficult enough, but Saturday night Chivas also had to make do without leading scorer Ante Razov and dynamic midfielder Juan Pablo Garcia, both out because of injuries.
It was too much to overcome, especially with the rest of the team a little flat.
Chivas played cautiously from the start, preferring to hit the Galaxy on the counter rather than attacking it in a more straightforward manner.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, had to carry the game to its opponent and did so with increasing relish. Only Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan stood between his team and an even more lopsided defeat.
Bradley blamed himself and his assistants for the loss, saying the team had not been properly prepared, or at least properly motivated.
“We’ve made a lot of progress,” he said, “but in a big game tonight we came up empty.”
That said, Bradley says he believes Chivas will qualify for the playoffs for the first time.
“We’ll be there,” he said. “We’ve gone through too much. It’s a good group. So we’re going to learn from this and we’re going to find a way to push on, but it’s a disappointing night in all ways.”
Chivas closes the regular season with a game on the road against the Kansas City Wizards followed by a home game against Real Salt Lake, which is a point ahead of the Galaxy and also must win its last two games to qualify.
Bradley said being without three key players was not the reason Chivas was beaten.
“Certainly, I think that’s part of it, but I don’t think that should be the whole story,” he said. “I think we had good players on the field tonight.
“But again, as you go through a week, as you prepare your team, it’s our job to have everybody ready, to have energy, to have a good plan, to have the kind of aggressiveness that pays off.
“I don’t think we had those things.”
The Galaxy did, much to Yallop’s delight, after the team had not won in four consecutive outings.
“I think the team performed real well tonight,” he said. “It was a huge game for us to come out and perform well, move the ball well and finish our chances, which we haven’t done.”
By finishing its chances, the Galaxy’s chances are not finished. That, more than anything, was the story Saturday night.
