Donovan’s goal helps Galaxy tie Chivas
Even in the most drab of games -- and Sunday’s Major League Soccer yawner at the Home Depot Center certainly qualified -- Landon Donovan somehow finds his way into the spotlight.
This time, it wasn’t the tying goal Donovan scored early in the second half of an eventual 1-1 stalemate with Chivas USA that got the attention. Rather, it was the insightful postgame comment from Chivas Coach Preki that did the trick.
“Landon is most dangerous when you have the ball,” Preki explained. “I tried to tell my guys to make sure we know where he is when we have the ball.”
The lesson did not stick.
Less than five minutes into the second half, with the Galaxy trailing and on the attack, Chivas defender Claudio Suarez rose to head the ball clear. No one was keeping close enough track of Donovan, however, and when Suarez’s header unexpectedly fell at his feet, the Galaxy striker struck.
His shot into the lower left corner of the net was well out of the reach of Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan, and the goal robbed Chivas of a possible victory. It also left a frustrated Suarez on his knees with his head in his hands.
“If that ball goes anywhere else, it’s not a goal,” Preki said. “Instead, it bounces straight to Landon. Give Landon credit, he put it away.”
The Galaxy had beaten Chivas, 3-1, a month earlier, but that game had far more fireworks than Sunday’s. Tension and drama were sadly absent despite the near-sellout crowd on hand for the all-Los Angeles affair.
Preki, however, did not see it as dull.
“Both teams played hard,” he said. “If you watch big-city derbies -- AC Milan-Inter Milan, Liverpool-Everton, whatever -- all those games are tight. Today was another example.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game. They were coming off a loss. We were coming off a tough trip. We knew not too many things would be given up easily. In all fairness, I thought the game was even.”
Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop believed the entertainment could have been improved upon. He blamed the 2 p.m. kickoff.
“It was an afternoon game,” he said. “There was a little bit of heat, and the pitch came up a little bit sticky. That didn’t really bode well for a great game. But I’ve got to be happy with our commitment to get back into the game and try to get something out of the match at the end.”
After a lackluster first half-hour, the only highlight of which was a Guzan save on Donovan early on, Chivas USA took the lead in the 35th minute. Ante Razov’s pass to Maykel Galindo beat the Galaxy’s offside trap and the Cuban striker sidestepped goalkeeper Joe Cannon at the edge of the penalty area and stuck the ball into the open net.
It was Galindo’s team-leading fourth goal in seven games.
Before the goal, the Galaxy lost a key player when defender Chris Albright was injured while challenging Chivas midfielder Francisco Mendoza for the ball.
Yallop was afraid the damage could be serious.
“When he landed, his leg was kind of straight and it put a big strain on his hamstring and he felt a huge pop in there,” Yallop said. “That’s not great when that happens.
“We won’t know until tomorrow or the next day when we get an MRI test done, but it’s obviously not good. Chris is a pretty durable guy, and he doesn’t really get injured that much. It’s a little worrying.”
The injury could be a major setback not only for the Galaxy but also for the U.S. national team.
Albright was expected to play in either the June 6-24 Gold Cup or the June 26-July 15 Copa America in Venezuela.
Sunday’s tie left Chivas with a 2-3-2 record for the season and a 1-7-2 all-time record against the Galaxy. The Galaxy is 1-2-2 in 2007.
“Getting a point away from home is good for any team in this league,” Yallop said with a smile. The Galaxy was the “road” team Sunday in the stadium both share.
