Galaxy comes up empty
The Galaxy’s tortured path toward the end of a season that can’t come soon enough took another painful turn Sunday.
Three goals in an 18-minute first-half spell earned the host Colorado Rapids a trouble-free 3-0 victory over Los Angeles, boosting the Rapids’ playoff chances and adding to the gloom surrounding the Galaxy.
It was the fifth loss in a row in league play for Coach Frank Yallop’s decimated squad, which was without not only David Beckham and Landon Donovan, but six other starters. All were sidelined because of injury or suspension.
“It would have been difficult for us to come away from this game with a win,” Yallop admitted. “It’s tough right now.”
So tough that the depleted Galaxy had to give professional debuts to two young midfielders, Josh Tudela and Mike Casco. They did not embarrass themselves, but neither provided the lift that the Galaxy so desperately needed.
The Galaxy tried, but tired legs and tired minds told the tale.
“We could make a bunch of excuses and say it was travel, or the guys who weren’t here, or the [number of] games we’ve played lately,” said midfielder Kyle Martino, “but we’re always disappointed when we lose.
“There were a lot of guys who showed character and determination when we were down 3-0 at the half. They came out and still created some chances.”
The Galaxy managed only two real scoring opportunities, both late in the game.
The first came when a shot by defender Kyle Veris ricocheted off a Colorado player and flashed wide of the net in the 63rd minute. The second came when forward Alan Gordon found himself one on one against goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul, in the 78th minute, but Gordon was unable to lift his shot over Coundoul, who spread himself low and wide and made the save.
“Right now, the confidence is up to the sky,” Coundoul said. “We beat the top two teams, Houston and New England, and then we just destroyed L.A. Everybody is going to start paying a little more attention to us now.”
The loss dropped the injury-riddled Galaxy to 3-10-5 with only a dozen games left in Major League Soccer’s regular season. Any slim hopes that the team might have had of reaching the playoffs have all but vanished.
The loss also meant that the Galaxy has not beaten the Rapids in a regular-season game in Colorado since July 2002.
Colorado (7-9-6) moved into a tie with the Columbus Crew for the eighth and final playoff spot.
“To be honest, having L.A. come out and play against us with a depleted team was one of the most challenging things we’ve faced all year,” Coach Fernando Clavijo said. “We didn’t know what to expect.”
Conor Casey put Colorado ahead 25 minutes 43 seconds into the game, Colin Clark made it 2-0 at 33:54 and Mike Petke added the third at 42:22. All the goals were the result of glaring defensive blunders.
Jones reported from Los Angeles.
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