Galaxy defeat Orlando City, 4-2, in Landon Donovan’s return
A sold-out crowd of more than 27,000 jammed StubHub Center for Landon Donovan’s comeback Sunday. And though they were rewarded when Donovan was sent on to slog through the final minutes of the Galaxy’s 4-2 win over Orlando City, they missed his biggest impact on the game.
That came at halftime, in the privacy of the locker room, when Donovan pulled aside young midfielder Raul Mendiola for some personal coaching.
“I’m very lucky,” said Mendiola, who came out of his second career start for Donovan in the 83rd minute. “Not a lot of people get the chance to speak to Landon, learn from him. So him coming up to me, I always listen to what he has to say.”
And for the time being, that may be the best thing Donovan can offer the Galaxy.
“I need to get fit. I came into a game where both teams were exhausted, and I was the slowest player on the field,” said Donovan, who hadn’t played in a competitive game since the 2014 MLS Cup final. “So I need to get myself ready to compete in a real way.
“Helping out a few guys at halftime … if that’s the way I contribute, then that’s great.”
Every little bit counts, especially now with the Galaxy locked in a tight playoff race with five regular-season games to go. With Sunday’s victory, the Galaxy assumed sole possession of second place in a Western Conference in which just seven points separate the top four teams.
But the Galaxy may have an edge in that the aging team is just starting to get healthy. Captain Robbie Keane, 36, who was out the last three weeks because of a groin injury, came off the bench a few minutes ahead of the 34-year-old Donovan to score for the first time since mid-July. And defender Jelle Van Damme, 32, out two weeks because of a knee strain, returned to contribute two assists.
The Galaxy also got two first-half goals from Giovani dos Santos, a youthful 27, whose two scores gave him four in his last two games and a team-high 14 for the season. With two assists Sunday he’s also tied for the team lead in that category with 11.
“I feel like I am in the best moment of my career. I’ve never felt this way,” said Dos Santos, who needs one more goal to tie Cubo Torres’ single-season MLS record for most goals by a Mexican player.
The Galaxy’s other goal came from 34-year-old Alan Gordon, who now has at least one score in 11 consecutive MLS seasons. All together it was a sprightly if sometimes inconsistent performance by the league’s oldest team, one that on Sunday used five players older than 32.
So while it may not have been a game for the ages, it was certainly one for the aged.
“Age doesn’t matter. Just ability,” said Orlando City Coach Jason Kreis, who got a first-half goal from Kevin Molino and a second-half stoppage-time score from Brek Shea. “I don’t see young players, old players. I just see good soccer players. And L.A. has a lot of them.”
Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena agreed.
“This age stuff is kind of stupid,” he said. “To a certain degree, you’ve got to understand there are some issues associated with older players. But at the club level in soccer it can be done.
“I don’t think we spend a whole lot of time thinking about that, although it is a point of consideration for sure.”
Another point of consideration Sunday was getting an obviously unfit Donovan into the game, short-circuiting any possible distractions his return may create.
“It was a lot harder than I remember. I have a lot of work to do,” said Donovan, who retired straight to a treadmill after a late-game cameo in which he looked slightly lost and uncomfortable. “For me, the role wasn’t important. Two minutes, five, 10, 15, 30. I didn’t care.
“I had the chance to run around a little bit. But I have a lot to do to be ready to contribute to the team.”
kevin.baxter@latimes.com
Twitter: @kbaxter11
