Galaxy defeats Philadelphia Union, 1-0
If the Galaxy is to go far in the MLS playoffs again this fall, it will have to dominate the matches it is supposed to win, play well against teams that pose a challenge and get lucky when those first two options don’t work out.
The Galaxy got a chance to work on some of that Thursday in a 1-0 win over a game Philadelphia Union before a record crowd of 18,779 at PPL Park on the banks of the Delaware River.
First came the dealing-with-a-challenge part. For nearly a third of the match, the patient Galaxy seemed content to let Philadelphia be in control. And the Union obliged, putting together three credible scoring threats in the first 18 minutes.
Then the Galaxy got its first chance, in the 27th minute, on a set piece. David Beckham took the corner kick, bending the ball like — well, you know who — to Edson Buddle, who headed it in for his 16th goal of the season, setting a career high while extending his league scoring lead.
That proved to be the only goal the Galaxy would need. And that’s good because the domination part that was supposed to follow — the Union, after all, is an expansion team that has lost twice as many as it has won — never really materialized.
In fact, it took a couple of brilliant saves by keeper Donovan Ricketts to keep the Galaxy from being embarrassed by a gutty Philadelphia team that refused to quit — and which the Galaxy couldn’t put away.
That seems to be of little concern to Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena three weeks before the playoff opener.
“It was a good win for us,” he insisted. “We didn’t play particularly well. [But] at this point in the season, where points are important for us, it was a big win on the road.
“You go out to win these games. We won the game. Am I elated? Am I jumping up and down and doing cartwheels over the fact that we were fabulous tonight? No, I’m not.”
As for the luck part, well, it’s probably more a case of just reward at the end of a good season, but with the three points it earned Thursday the Galaxy has a five-point lead over Real Salt Lake in the battle for the top spot in the Western Conference. And with three matches left, Real Salt Lake can pick up no more than nine points, meaning the Galaxy can secure the playoff’s top seeding — and the home-field advantage that goes with it — by winning its final two matches.
That could prove huge, since Salt Lake is unbeaten at home, where in June it handed the Galaxy its first loss this season.
“We’re in good position with two games to go,” Arena said. “We’d certainly like to finish on top in the West. We have control of those things at this point.”
Despite what was, at times, a lethargic performance, the Galaxy did claim a piece of history Thursday, thanks to a pair of spectacular one-handed stops by Ricketts in the final 20 minutes and a wild Union header on the final play of the match. Those saves not only preserved the Galaxy’s lead, but they allowed Ricketts to tie Kevin Hartman’s 11-year-old club record with his 11th scoreless match of the season while the team equaled the year-old franchise mark with 12 shutouts.
kevin.baxter@latimes.com
