Galaxy vs. Timbers: Bad Sign for the MLS Playoffs?
- Updated: October 25, 2015
We said our goodbyes to Todd Dunivant on October 18, 2015. It was his last regular season home game as he announced his retirement earlier in the season. Unfortunately, fans endured arguably the worst LA Galaxy game of this season last Sunday. For some reason, they failed to keep it together against the Portland Timbers.
Starting Lineups and Substitutions
| LA Galaxy | Portland Timbers FC | ||||
| 1 | GK | Donovan Ricketts | 12 | GK | Adam Larsen Kwarasey |
| 14 | D | Robbie Rogers | 20 | D | Taylor Peay |
| 22 | D | Leonardo | 7 | D | Nat Borchers |
| 4 | D | Omar Gonzalez | 24 | D | Liam Ridgewell |
| 33 | D | Dan Gargan | 19 | D | Jorge Villafana |
| 17 | M | Sebastian Lletget | 8 | M | Diego Valeri |
| 8 | M | Steven Gerrard | 21 | M | Diego Chara |
| 19 | M | Juninho | 6 | M | Darlington Nagbe |
| 11 | M | Gyasi Zardes | 26 | F | Lucas Melano |
| 10 | F | Giovani dos Santos | 9 | F | Fanendo Adi |
| 7 | F | Robbie Keane | 22 | F | Rodney Wallace |
| 12 | GK | Brian Rowe | 90 | GK | Jake Gleeson |
| 16 | D | Edson Buddle | 15 | D | Jeanderson |
| 2 | D | Todd Dunivant | 23 | M | Norberto Paparatto |
| 20 | D | A.J. DeLaGarza | 17 | M | Michael Nanchoff |
| 3 | M | Mika Vayrynen | 37 | F | Maximiliano Urruti |
| 5 | M | Jose Villarreal | 5 | F | George Fochive |
| 9 | F | Alan Gordon | 11 | Dairon Asprilla | |
In the past five matches against the Timbers, the Galaxy had only won 2 games with the rest draws.
During the first half, the Galaxy played fairly well. Robbie Keane scored the only goal (for either team) of it in the 36th minute. He later scored the Galaxy’s second goal in the 84th minute.
Throughout the second half, the Galaxy basically allowed the Timbers to walk over them. Fanendo Adi scored his two goals in a span of three minutes. Then Diego Chara scored, followed by Darlington Nagbe and Maximiliano Urruti. How could LA let Portland score five goals in about twenty-five minutes?
Well, everyone fell apart defensively. Gerrard and Juninho watched as Timbers players ran past them. They physically outplayed LA at every turn. Dan Gargan, as much as I like him, fouled Adi in the box, which led to a penalty kick. On Chara’s goal, he sprinted into the box completely unguarded as the Galaxy watched the Timbers play around with the ball. Nagbe out sprinted and shouldered off Omar Gonzalez to beat Donovan Ricketts and score. Then, Jorge Villafana split Robbie Rogers and Gonzalez with a pass to Urutti for the final goal of the night.
With this loss, the Galaxy lost the opportunity to beat FC Dallas for first place in the Western Conference along with any chance at the Supporters’ Shield.
The Galaxy play Sporting KC for the final regular season game on Sunday, October 25. If the Timbers-Galaxy game is any indicator, I worry about the Galaxy’s chances during the playoffs. Already I have a hard time believing the Galaxy will win the 2015 MLS Cup.
In order to skip the knockout round of the playoffs, the Galaxy must beat Sporting. If they lose or tie, they will have to beat the next team in the first round. They cannot afford to play ridiculously against Sporting. According to the Playoff Scenario page, that team will probably be either Sporting KC or the Seattle Sounders.
As the Galaxy finish off the regular season, tune in to ESPN at 4 P.M. Pacific Time and cheer on them with tons of team spirit! You don’t know how far they will go in the playoffs!
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