I’ve Got One Word: Galaxy vs. Earthquakes Post-Game Analysis

By: NathanHJ | June 21st, 2009

Picture by Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press And that word is: Punchless.

One shot on goal, seven shots overall, despite controlling the game for decent stretches over the course of the afternoon. Punchless. One shot on goal despite fielding an “offensive-minded” lineup designed to counter the improved San Jose Earthquake defense and attempt to victimize the leakiest defense in the league. If the TFC game made you think the team could pressure opposing defenses without Landon Donovan, then the last two games have been a reality check. The team sorely misses his vision, passing acumen, and incisive runs. If he’d been on the field, then I think the Galaxy could have come away from the Oakland Coliseum with three point. Instead… punchless.

This is the kind of game that is especially frustrating for Galaxy fans because when victory counts on making the most of limited chances those chances seem to be almost profligately squandered. In fact, that’s been the story all season. While the team has taken great strides in slamming shut the floodgates that swamped the defense last season, taking the team from worst defense in the league to seventh overall in goals allowed, it has regressed significantly in goals scored. Only two teams have scored fewer goals so far, New York and New England. To be sure, the lingering pre-season injury to Edson Buddle and the absence of David Beckham have had their impact, but the clear lack of depth in the offense has been brought into focus with Donovan’s absence with the National Team.

At the beginning of the season I said that two players especially needed to step up for the Galaxy to have a successful season: Mike Magee and Bryan Jordan. Thus far this hasn’t happened. Take yesterday’s game. Mike Magee turned in a much better performance than he had over the previous or so, but it’s obvious from this game that being adequate isn’t enough when there is no Donovan or Becks to spark the offense. And while Jordan always brings fire and boundless energy, his skill level is still climbing up to MLS level. And like Magee’s improvement just shows us how much we really do miss Donovan, Jovan Kirovski’s goal, a product of veteran smarts and tenacity, just shows me how much he’s much better as a late game sub who can take advantage of tired legs and poor positioning. Other than that, I don’t see much upside from him.

As for this game in particular, the defense was uncharacteristically shaky. There is starting be a bunch of grumbling over Gregg Berhalter, given his two reds and giving away the penalty kick last night. I personally tend to appreciate Berhalter’s veteran smarts and his calm as well as his ability to facilitate good communications with the rest of the back line. But I wonder if he’s hitting a mini-wall here. He hasn’t really had any time off since he was cut loose by his German team this Spring. He was clearly at fault on the Campos penalty and he really didn’t have to be given how Donovan Ricketts was coming out to smother the play.

Speaking of Ricketts, one of the knocks on him has been perceived weakness on crosses and the play that led to the second goal could have been snuffed if he’d come off his line and taken the cross off Campos’ head rather than letting him get to it. I’m not enough of a goalkeeper coach to say this definitively, but it is worth considering.

On the midfield, the team was feeling the loss of Eddie Lewis to red card suspension and Dema Kovalenko to a training injury on Friday. Kyle Patterson is still not MLS ready. He has speed, yes, but lacks just about all the rest of the package you need to be a successful left mid at MLS level. His first touch is often errant, he holds the ball too long, his passing lacks crispness and his crosses are weak. And yesterday he was out of position about half the game, pinching into the middle of the field and leaving the Galaxy without a left wing option. Despite that, the team was able to maintain control of the midfield for decent stretches, largely due to Chris Klein’s workrate and a very steady game from Stefani Miglioranzi.

I’ve said this a million times over the course of the year, but it was obvious once again that the midfield lacks the creative connection between winning the ball and distributing it into the attack. I had hoped that the addition of Eddie Lewis might give us some of that, but I think it will require another piece (really two – the return of Beckham and a good center mid – supposedly what Chris Birchall is going to provide). Just think about this. How much better would this team be if it could put, say, Jesse Marsch into the middle? ‘Nuff said.

The attack, which was supposed to come from Kirovski, Buddle, and Magee was, what was the word? Right. Punchless. Buddle’s just about back at full fitness, but the last two game show how much he depends on quality service to play his game and yesterday the passes in the final third of the field were lacking. It’s just not acceptable to control possesstion and not pressure the opposing goal. One shot on goal. The late insertion of Alan Gordon made the team better in the air and resulted in the lone goal on the night, but Jordan added little on his side.

These last two games have put the Galaxy in a serious hole in terms of making the playoffs. With the opportunity to take 6 points off of the two teams in the West playing worse futbol, the Galaxy came away with zero, including dropping three points in a precious home match. Those six points would have put the Galaxy at 21 points on the year at the halfway mark, on pace to hit the magical 40 generally accepted as being needed to make the playoffs. Instead the team sits at 15 with 15 games to go, meaning it needs 25 points from those games. That’s 9 wins, or 8 wins and 1 tie or, possibly, 7 wins and 4 ties. But in any of those scenarios it means taking three points from a minimum of basically half the games. Oh, did I mention that six of the next nine Galaxy games are on the road?

True, after three of those games Becks comes back and Birchall comes in and by the July 4th game Donovan will be back, but the team’s put itself in a pretty big hole. It’s unrealistic to expect that Birchall and Becks will smoothly integrate by their first games on the pitch, cutting the margin even further. And there there are the fall World Cup qualifiers… It’s not looking good from where I’m sitting.

Man of the Match: Mike Magee (and I’m surprised myself that I just wrote that).

What other are saying:

Pete Ratajczak at MLSNet.com
Nick Green at 100 Percent Soccer
AP in the Los Angeles Times
The Sports Network in the Miami Herald
Elliot Almond in the San Jose Mercury News
Jennifer Dawson at Goal.com
The party line over at The Los Angeles Galaxy blog

What about you guys? What did you see? Who did well? Who didn’t? What changes need to be made? Can the team hold on long enough for Birchall and Becks to make a difference for the playoff picture? Leave your thoughts and comments below.