California Clasico: LA Galaxy .vs. San Jose Earthquakes

On June 27, the LA Galaxy played the San Jose Earthquakes in a rivalry match called the California Clasico since they are the only teams from California (at least until the Los Angeles Football Club begins in 2017 or 2018).

Starting Lineups and Substitutions

In the first half, the LA Galaxy started off strong as the Earthquakes approached the ball slowly. As the game progressed, the 50,422 fans inside Stanford Stadium probably felt the tension between the two teams—and used it to fuel their passionate screams, chats, and cheering.

In the 17^th minute, Juninho scored the only Galaxy goal of the match. Robbie Rogers crossed the ball across the Earthquake’s box and it deflected off Victor Bernardez and Fatai Alashe. Dan Gargan then intercepted the ball and quickly brought it down, but lost control. The ball rolled away from him and both Robbie Keane and Juninho sprinted towards it. Keane backed off as his teammate had picked up more momentum. Juninho hit the ball one-time and sent it blistering past David Bingham, the Earthquake goalkeeper! Such an amazing shot!

Unfortunately, the Galaxy’s lead only lasted eleven minutes. Chris Wondolowski scored in the 28^th minute, followed by two more goals in the second half from Clarence Goodson (53^rd) and Cordell Cato (72^nd). I’m not going to break down the Earthquakes goals, so here is the link to the highlights if you wish to see them: Galaxy vs. Earthquakes Highlight Videos.

For the rest of the match, the Earthquakes dominated. Even though the Galaxy passed the ball a lot, they failed to move it up the field in order to attempt to equalize the scoreboard. Only Leonardo and Robbie Keane registered shots during the second half.

So what happened to the Galaxy? They’d just won two games in a row—against Philadelphia 5-1 and against Portland 5-0. Could they still be “cursed” on away games? Or have the 3 matches in 8 days taken their toll?

A heartbreaking loss, the LA Galaxy could not keep possession nor regain the lead. They lost whatever form, momentum, and winning ability they had in the first half. As much as I wanted to see the LA Galaxy win, I hoped to see an exciting match—and they definitely put me on the edge of my seat!

Looking Forward

The Galaxy’s next match is the 5^th round of the U.S. Open Cup. They’ll be playing the San Jose Earthquakes for the second time in a row, but this time at the Earthquake’s home field—Avaya Stadium. Unfortunately, the Galaxy will be without Gyasi Zardes (USMNT), Omar Gonzalez (USMNT), and Jaime Penedo (PMNT) as they play in the Gold Cup.

It’s difficult to say what the Galaxy need to do in order to beat the Earthquakes. My guess is that with their next regular season match against Toronto FC on July 4 Bruce Arena will choose to play several of the younger players, like Oscar Sorto, Ignacio Maganto, Bradford Jamieson, Jose Villarreal, and Rafael Garcia—maybe even Raul Mendiola and Jack McBean.

I’m looking forward to this upcoming match against the Earthquakes on July 1. Yet, I don’t really mind if they lose. As important as the Open Cup is, the Galaxy need to focus more on their run for the 2015 MLS Cup.

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things LA Galaxy and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!

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