Are You Watching the Seoul-Galaxy Game? Liveblog here.

By: Laurie | February 29th, 2008

I’m up. I’m propping my eyes open. I’m going to make it through this game. If you’re in the same situation, stop by and leave comments and we’ll keep each other awake. Keep refreshing for the liveblog.

Seoul 1-1 Galaxy

Ruiz looked very promising. He does look like he could be that mythical creature who can get on the end of Beckham’s crosses. If he keeps heading down this road, I could take back almost every ugly thing I ever said about him. Allen also has potential. Cronin looked a lot better. I really don’t know why Gullit didn’t play Valentin or Franklin, becasue our back line looked incredibly porous.

45 + 2 Xavier clears the corner, and that’s the game. 1-1. The Galaxy was very lucky to get the draw. Seoul played the better game but couldn’t finish. (And that wasn’t due to good Galaxy defending.)

45 + 1 Vanney takes down a player just outside the box. Two minutes stoppage time. The free kick hits the wall and goes out for a corner.

45′ Back at the other end Ely Allen looks momentarily threatening, but he’s well defended and the ball goes out for a goal kick.

44′ Xavier clears badly, straight to a Seoul player, who shoots. But Cronin is there.

43′ Cronin to the rescue again. Korea breaks free again and gets the shot, but Cronin falls on it. It slips out of his grasp, but fortunately nobody is there to take advantage of it.

42′ Seoul somehow ends up two on one with just Xavier between them and Cronin. What is wrong with our defense?!?

41′ Seoul look dangerous again, but the ball is headed directly to Cronin.

40′ Beckham is looking very tired. Seoul has made nine substitutions. The Galaxy get an excellent chance. Ruiz collides with a defender and goes down, but Ely Allen collects the ball and looks threatening. He is looking good on the attack. Eventually they lose it, though. The Galaxy call for a handball, but don’t get it.

38′ Xavier gives away the ball, which gives Seoul another chance. Cronin shuts it down. He’s looking like a starting keeper this game.

37′ Klein delivers a nice cross to Jordan, who heads it wide.

36′ Seoul gets another shot, but it’s right to a well-positioned Cronin.

35′ A nice chance for our guys. Allen delivers to Ruiz just outside the six-yard box. Ruiz goes for a bicycle kick, but it’s not on target.

34′ Another yellow for Seoul for shoving Alvaro in the back.

33′ Beckham gets chased all the way back to our own box. He botches a tackle and Seoul gets an excellent chance, but he shoots yards wide. They get another chance right away and the Galaxy get some anxious moments before Cronin saves. Our defense sucking again.

28′ These announcers are annoying me. I don’t want to hear about winter in the northwest. I want to know who just delivered the ball into the box. thank you.

26′ Beckham delivers a great ball, just a little too far in front of Jordan in the box. Allen gets to it but has to battle defenders, and in the end it goes out for a goal kick.

25′ Xavier gets beat bad and Cronin has to come out and dive for the ball.

24′ Pete Vagenas comes onto the field at last for Alan Gordon. More 4-4-2 now.

23′ this half is just all Seoul. they get another shot, which Cronin has to dive to save.

22′ Backpass to Cronin, who is immediately under pressure and just barely gets the ball off. alan gordon is now down on the field again and being taken off. He is walking, but…

21′ Hard tackle on Alan Gordon, who stays down for awhile and gets up limping. I think I forgot to say that Allen is on for Babayaro.

20′ Gavin has to head a ball out for a corner. Fortunately the Galaxy gets the corner cleared.

19′ Galaxy are looking tired and sloppy. Pass to Beckham slips right past him and out for a throw-in.

18′ Free kick for Beckham straignt to a Seoul defender. They take it down the field, but in the end Gavin blocks the shot and the Galaxy get it back.

16′ Corner for Seoul headed into the air and then out for a goal kick.

14′ Klein crosses to Allen, who sends the ball just over the crossbar and onto the top netting.

12′ Gavin saves a goal. Seoul has all the time in the world to deliver it, but fortunately Gavin is in the box to knock it away. It may have come off a Galaxy guy. did Gavin save an embarrassing own goal?

11′ Gordon takes down a player with a hard tackle. He may have gotten a yellow? (I thought I saw the ref going for his pocket, but maybe not.

10′ Becks delivers a cross to Ely allen, who despite some acrobatic maneuvers can’t shake his marker.

9′ Seoul gets a free kick that is headed away by the Galaxy. It eventually goes back toward the box, but goes wide of the goal for a goal kick.

8′ Xavier may not have great speed, but he sure positions himself well and is good with his head.

7′ For once Beckham gets a throughball delivered to him on the edge of the box. He runs onto it and almost gets the chance to shoot, but the keeper beats him to it.

5′ Koreal gets a shot, but Cronin is dives and collects it. It might have gone wide anyway. The second half minutes on the screen started with 1, so I will too.

49′ Yellow for a Seoul player for taking down Jordan a few yards outside the box. Free kick is deflected off the wall, out for a corner, which goes way out of the box to Korean players.

48′ Gavion’s in for Randolph. He gets beat, but the cross is poor.

47′ Nice cross into the box for Korea but Xavier heads it away. Corner bounces from player to player before Korea takes a shot. Cronin is off his line, so one of the Galaxy players (Vanney?) clear it off the line.

46′ We’re off. Some changes on the field for the second half. Ely allen is on, not sure for who.

Did they say earlier that Alvaro was offered a contract?

We’re looking better tonight, especially compared to the Gamba Osaka game, but we have some serious weaknesses. Big defensive question marks. When we’re playing this back line we have three players over 30. I don’t think that’s a good thing. Mike Randolph started rusty but is looking better as the game progresses. I think the biggest problem is that so few of these players have taken the field together. Ruiz is looking very promising. If he can be this kind of fox in the box I can maybe forgive the Dallas diving. (Which he won’t do for LA. Right?)

45 + 1 one minute of stoppage time… And that’s the half.

45′ Jordan has a lovely bit of play up the right, pirouettes away from a defender, but in the end he crosses where he probably should have shot. It goes to the Korean defense.

43′ We get some nice play up the left flank. Babayaro and Randolph have potential, but they’re not there yet. In the end the ball goes to the keeper.

40′ A one-on-one situation in the box. Cronin has to come off his line and dive for the ball. Our defense is sucking eggs.

39′ Beckham delivers an ugly hard tackle just outside the box on the right. It’s delivered right to a target — a completely unmarked player — but the header goes high.

38′ Seoul misses an absolute sitter after Xavier completely misses the ball on a desperate tackle.

37′ Alvaro and some Korean players get into a bit of a shoving match.

36′ BEAUTIFUL free kick from Beckham straight to Ruiz’s head, but the keeper saves it inches in front of the line.

35′ The past few minutes are all Seoul. We got one adequate counter, but Ruiz’s cross to Beckham goes out.

33′ Lord, our defense sucks! Another near breakaway, but Xavier is at last able to clear it.

32′ GOAL! Seoul. Cronin dives left, the penalty goes straight. 1-1 alas. They announcers are saying they deserved a penalty, but not this one.

31′ Free kick for Seoul. I didn’t see the foul. It goes out for a Seoul throw-in. When it’s thrown in, the Babayaro takes down a player for a penalty. Very soft penalty

30′ A nice shot on goal for Korea, but Cronin gets down for the save.

28′ Our defense is kind of sucking. Even though we’re all in the box, somehow a Korea player gets through and dleivers a shot, but fortunately it goes wide.

28′ Xavier goes in studs up and is lucky not to get a card.

26′ Babayaro delivers a ball across an open goal, but Korea gets there to clear before any Galaxy guys can get to it. It eventually goes out for Seoul

25′ Good chance for Seoul, but their player is called offside.

23′ Seoul gets a good chance. Xavier heads away the first delivery, but doesn’t clear it. It is delivered back to a mass of Galaxy defenders and eventually cleared away.

20′ GOAL!!!! Ruiz goes down. This foul is actually legit. Free kick goes to Alan Gordon. Yes, Alan Gordon, who chests it down to his feet and delivers it right into goal. Lovely. Korea seemed to be napping a bit.

18′ Another corner. Perfect deliver, but it’s headed out. Not completely cleared. It eventually goes to Beckham in the left corner and goes out for a Korea throw-in.

17′ We’re playing a very pleasant, attacking game. Getting the ball forward, crossing it into the box, controlling up the wings. Not too shabby.

16′ Beckham gets a corner. The crowd is happy. Perfectly delivered to Ruiz, but it goes high and there’s a foul anyway — a little bit of a push.

14′ Seoul crosses straight to Cronin. Cronin is looking more confident. Down at the other end, Ruiz gets a shot but it goes way high.

13′ Hmm. I guess I’m liveblogging. Going in to change the post title.

12′ Klein delivers a nice cross to the box, but there’s nobody there.

9′ Seoul should have had a penalty. Randolph clips a guy from behind in the box and takes him down (after being completely left behind.) Galaxy got very lucky. Then Ruiz is taken down, also no foul. What’s up with Randolph? That’s two he’s missed so far. Is he leaving for USMNT U23s tomorrow?

7′ Beckham’s taken down with a slightly late tackle. No foul, but Becks isn’t happy about it.

6′ Klein’s still at rightback.

4′ Gordon is technically withdrawn forward, not wing.

2′ Mike Randolph misses his mark and gives away a shot, but fortunately it goes wide.

1′ Galaxy are looking good so far. We’ve alread had a good chance, but the guys in the box weren’t quite in position.

The Fox Soccer guy says the Galaxy “look to continue to better their form.”

Yeah. What he said.

4-3-3 Randolph’s on leftback and Babayaro is on left mid. Up front we have Jordan, Ruiz and Gordon (on the right.) Except for Donovan this is not going to be too different from a real lineup. Also Xavier is back.