Opening #SoccerSunday Comeback: LAvDC, 3/6/2016
- Updated: March 8, 2016
What a #SoccerSunday comeback! After a difficult preseason and a more than disappointing performance in the Champions League against Club Santos Laguna, LA Galaxy fans needed some good news! Against DC United on Sunday, we definitely saw a revived LA Galaxy—at least in the second half.
Starting Lineups and Substitutions
| LA Galaxy | DC United | ||||
| 1 | GK | Dan Kennedy | 50 | GK | Andrew Dykstra |
| 14 | D | Robbie Rogers | 5 | D | Sean Franklin |
| 44 | D | Daniel Steres | 15 | D | Steve Birnbaum |
| 20 | D | A.J. DeLaGarza | 32 | D | Bobby Boswell |
| 3 | D | Ashley Cole | 2 | D | Taylor Kemp |
| 8 | M | Steven Gerrard | 7 | M | Marcelo Sarvas |
| 34 | M | Nigel De Jong | 12 | M | Patrick Nyarko |
| 17 | M | Sebastian Lletget | 18 | M | Chris Rolfe |
| 10 | M | Giovani dos Santos | 14 | M | Nick DeLeon |
| 11 | F | Gyasi Zardes | 11 | F | Luciano Acosta |
| 7 | F | Robbie Keane | 13 | F | Lamar Neagle |
| 12 | GK | Brian Rowe | 48 | GK | Travis Worra |
| 27 | D | Dave Romney | 6 | D | Kofi Opare |
| 18 | M | Mike Magee | 34 | D | Luke Mishu |
| 6 | M | Baggio Husidic | 10 | M | Fabian Espindola |
| 25 | M | Rafael Garcia | 17 | M | Miguel Aguilar |
| 24 | F | Emmanuel Boateng | 9 | F | Alvaro Saborio |
| 46 | F | Ariel Lassiter | 33 | F | Julian Buescher |
Not long into the first half, Galaxy fans felt their hearts sink into their stomachs. DC scored an early goal. It appeared we might see a reprise of the 2015 LA Galaxy. I won’t spend time on the Galaxy’s goals today. Instead, I want to discuss a major problem, but also spend some time on good aspects.
Million Dollar Problem
In the first five minutes, the defense and midfield struggled to control the ball. DC players like Nick DeLeon outmaneuvered LA at every move. Lamar Neagle used a poor mistake by Steven Gerrard to score a goal. Gerrard tried a fancy move, but ended up losing the ball to Chris Rolfe. A.J. DeLaGarza tackled the ball loose, but it went right to Neagle who dribbled up and shot right past Dan Kennedy. Not much Kennedy could do.
Unfortunately, Gerrard has continued to show lackluster performances—largely due to his age (35) and still acclimating to North America travel. He’s detrimentally slow. How much longer will he be able to play 90 minutes in consecutive games? Who knows. I can partially forgive him though because of his age, but I cannot forgive Giovani dos Santos. (You thought I’d focus on Gerrard, hah.)
At 26, Gio is in his prime. He should be contributing much more in games—and scoring. Gio failed to make much of an impression during the last CCL game as well. Not good if you want to play for the Mexican National Team again! He took zero shots, failed defensively, and ended up leaving early.
We absolutely need him to play better. He has been a key figure for the Galaxy, but only for publicity. I consider him the David Beckham of 2015-2016 so far. Yet, Gio started off strong then dwindled. Beckham started off badly, then ended better. (For more information about Beckham and the Galaxy from 2007-2009, read Grant Wahl’s The Beckham Experiment).
@newt_ripley @hugi_nho @elblint @elJGY @figurethingsout @galacticla @oliverosax If Cole plays better than Gio, we have million $ issues.
— Patrick Salkeld (@PatSalkeld) March 8, 2016
Ashley Cole, a brand new elder for the team, played much better than most expected. He even made the MLS Team of the Week in his first game. He’s 35 and bound for retirement soon! Wake up, Gio.
Not a bad start at all.@TheRealAC3 & @magee18 made the @MLS Team of the Week: https://t.co/owHXewmyOm pic.twitter.com/GWms9PVt4Z
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) March 7, 2016
If he continues to play poorly, the Galaxy need to trade him and save millions of dollars. Can he fill Landon Donovan’s shoes? So far, it’s doubtful.
Now for the Good
We have Mike Magee. Everyone should be cheering! As soon as Bruce put Magee in for Gio, the whole game changed. Magee instantly made an impression. I’m excited to see him back!
#LAGalaxy midfielder @magee18 voted #MLS Player of the Week after scoring two goals, an assist and winning a PK vs. DC
— Adam Serrano (@LAGalaxyInsider) March 8, 2016
Maybe we’ll get a chance to see him as a goalkeeper again? (Let’s hope not.) Watch this video to learn more: “On this day in Galaxy history: Mike Magee earns shutout as goalkeeper.
Daniel Steres also played well in his first official Galaxy game. I wonder how his performance will affect future games, because he played in Jelle Van Damme’s position. Van Damme is out with an injury. Could he usurp the Belgian’s spot? We shall see.
Hopefully, the Galaxy will not have more poor first halves and will continue to build on this victory. Stay tuned for the second match on Saturday, March 12, against the Colorado Rapids!
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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