Usual suspects round up Galaxy
Sometimes it’s best to simply tear up the game plan, throw all the bits of paper in the air and see where they land.
That’s what Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit did Saturday night, when he reshaped the Los Angeles lineup at halftime and turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-2 tie with the Houston Dynamo.
Two of the players that Gullit left on the field did all the damage. David Beckham provided the passes. Landon Donovan provided the goals, his fourth and fifth of the season.
As always with the Galaxy, it was “The Beckham and Donovan Show,” with the supporting cast enjoying the ride. They have scored all six of the Galaxy’s goals in 2008.
The result left Los Angeles with a 1-2-1 record while the defending Major League Soccer champion Dynamo (0-1-3) was left still seeking its first victory.
“First half terrible, second half better,” was Beckham’s assessment. “The second half we showed character and fight, and we were happy with the result in the end.”
Fans applauded both teams off the Home Depot Center field after being treated to an end-to-end battle with enough drama to last the whole 90 minutes.
There were standout moments for several players.
Donovan’s diving header off Beckham’s near-post cross that brought the Galaxy level at 1-1 in the 67th minute rates among the Galaxy’s best. Donovan spoiled it somewhat, though, by leaning over Patrick Ianni, the defender he had beaten, and taunting him.
Ianni got his own back a while later, though, heading the ball off the goal line when Edson Buddle thought he had scored the game-winner for Los Angeles.
It was 1-1 until the 78th minute, when Houston’s Argentine forward, Franco Caraccio, put the Dynamo back in front, slotting the ball home after a shot by Brian Ching had rebounded to him off the crossbar.
Still, the Galaxy did not give up.
With 12 minutes remaining, it fought for the tying goal, which came with six minutes to play when Beckham sent a low cross in from the right and Donovan, sprinting in at the far post, put it home.
The first 45 minutes belonged almost entirely to the visitors, who outshot the home team, 10-5, and very easily could have had a three-goal advantage by halftime. Instead, Houston took only a 1-0 lead into the locker room, courtesy of a 36th-minute goal by Brad Davis.
By the end, the statistics showed the Galaxy outshooting the Dynamo, 19-18.
The difference was in the changes Gullit fashioned at halftime.
“I had to improvise,” he said.
The Dutchman took out left midfielder Josh Tudela and Alan Gordon, who had been playing in central midfield rather than at forward, and brought in defender Abel Xavier and newly signed defensive midfielder Joe Franchino. That added some bite.
He also moved Sean Franklin from central defense to left back, shifting Mike Randolph from left back into left midfield. That added some speed.
The moves, plus a few angry words in the locker room, had the desired effect. But in the end it was Beckham’s passes and Donovan’s finishing that made the real difference.
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