LA Galaxy vs. Montreal Impact: Romney Shutdown Drogba
- Updated: September 19, 2015
This past weekend the LA Galaxy played the Montreal Impact. We all knew the Galaxy defense might have a difficult time defensively because of Didier Drogba’s excellence. Yet, overall, it appeared an even match.
Starting Lineups and Substitutions
| LA Galaxy | Seattle Sounders FC | ||||
| 1 | GK | Donovan Ricketts | 1 | GK | Evan Bush |
| 14 | D | Robbie Rogers | 14 | D | Nigel Reo-Coker |
| 27 | D | Dave Romney | 36 | D | Victor Cabrera |
| 4 | D | Omar Gonzalez | 55 | D | Wandrille Lefevre |
| 20 | D | A.J. DeLaGarza | 25 | D | Donny Toia |
| 17 | M | Sebastian Lletget | 33 | M | Marco Donadel |
| 8 | M | Steven Gerrard | 16 | M | Calum Mallace |
| 19 | M | Juninho | 21 | M | Justin Mapp |
| 10 | M | Giovani dos Santos | 10 | M | Ignacio Piatti |
| 7 | F | Robbie Keane | 15 | M | Andres Romero |
| 11 | F | Gyasi Zardes | 11 | F | Didier Drogba |
| 12 | GK | Brian Rowe | 22 | GK | Eric Kronberg |
| 33 | D | Dan Gargan | 6 | D | Hassoun Camara |
| 21 | D | Tommy Meyer | 2 | D | Ambroise Oyongo |
| 3 | M | Mika Vayrynen | 7 | M | Dominic Oduro |
| 9 | M | Alan Gordon | 5 | M | Dilly Duka |
| 6 | M | Baggio Husidic | 29 | M | Eric Alexander |
| 16 | F | Edson Buddle | 27 | M | Johan Venegas |
The Galaxy started off slowly, but gained some momentum over the course of the first half. In the second half, they dominated more of the game, but still failed to find that game-winning goal.
Neither defense allowed many offensive maneuvers to start. After Montreal’s last match against the Chicago Fire in which Drogba scored a hat trick, I feared that he might have just as excellent a game. Yet, the LA Galaxy defense showed up well!
With Leonardo suspended due to a straight red card against the San Jose Earthquakes, Bruce Arena replaced him with Dave Romney at left center back. Although moderately inexperienced with the senior team, Romney held his own against Drogba. During the second half, a collision between them almost caused the Ivory Coast international to leave the game early with a possible ankle injury.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy offense could barely create any chances. Bruce started Gyasi Zardes up top with Robbie Keane and put Giovani dos Santos on the right as an outside midfielder beside Juninho. The opportunities they did start failed to end with a goal.
Looking towards the next match, I hope Gio will be able to play. He left the game against Montreal early because of a groin issue. Yet, Bruce reassured fans in an interview that Gio will be playing against Real Salt Lake. It’s an away match at Rio Tinto Stadium, so I’m hoping the Galaxy will be able to pull off a much-needed win to help secure their playoff run.
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