Galaxy drops home opener
It has begun.
Three months before David Beckham’s arrival in Los Angeles, signs of the impending tidal wave already can be found at the Home Depot Center.
On Thursday night, a new VIP entrance to the stadium, complete with a drive-by drop-off point for limousines and the mandatory red carpet, made its debut.
It was the Galaxy’s 2007 home opener -- which resulted in an unexpected and sobering 2-1 loss to FC Dallas -- and up in the press box the game was watched by the usual two dozen or so beat reporters, but also by a writer from the Times of London, another from Bild in Hamburg and a staffer from Voetbal Magazine in Amsterdam.
They are the early ripples of the coming international wave.
Just to complete the picture, there on Page 52 of the new and instantly collectible Galaxy media guide, was the man himself: Beckham. Four pages are devoted to the former English national team captain.
Beckham, still with Real Madrid, is not expected to kick a ball in anger at the Home Depot Center until the Galaxy’s July 21 match with Chelsea, by which time the Blues could be the champions of England and Europe, unless, of course, Manchester United and Liverpool derail those ambitions.
But the buzz created by Beckham already is evident, although not necessarily in the attitude or application of the Galaxy players to judge by Thursday’s lackluster performance. The Galaxy awoke only in the final 20 minutes.
The players do, of course, have three months and counting to get things right, not that Coach Frank Yallop will allow them that long.
“It’s an eye-opener for us,” Yallop said. “We can’t just show up and expect to win. That’s the message of tonight.”
Dallas, which had never beaten the Galaxy in nine league and Cup games at the Home Depot Center, took a firm grip on the match in the first half.
It took the lead in the 35th minute when former Galaxy standout Carlos Ruiz tucked a penalty kick into the lower right corner of the net after rookie Ty Harden was judged to have handled the ball.
It seemed a harsh call to the crowd of 23,596, looking more like a case of the ball hitting Harden, who was trying to pull his arm out of the way, rather than him intentionally trying to play the ball with his hand.
“If a player’s shooting towards the goal and it hits an arm, they usually call that,” Yallop said, choosing not to question referee Terry Vaughn’s judgment.
The Galaxy fell two goals behind in the 43rd minute after Cobi Jones fouled Dallas midfielder Ramon Nunez, who delivered a perfect dipping free kick into the penalty area.
Kenny Cooper got to the ball first and powered a rising shot into the net from close range. Goalkeeper Joe Cannon had no chance.
The Galaxy picked up the pace in the second half, especially after rookie Robbie Findley entered the game near the hour mark.
With four minutes left to play, Findley scored his first professional goal, rising to head a corner kick by Landon Donovan sharply into the Dallas net.
It was not enough to change the outcome, and the foreign press left believing that Beckham will have his work cut out for him when he arrives.
