LA 1 – Seattle 0

Like Angel, Gonzalez, and Ricketts, Nathan is suffering through an injury today, so post game duties fall to me.

Somewhere in a penthouse in Vegas there is a guy snorting lines and rolling in hookers because he put $100 down on Mike Magee starting for the Galaxy in their opening match. Don’t know how far down your probability depth chart that was, but I’m still diving to find it on mine. Gonzalez and Ricketts were both out with injuries. Angel apparently had what my kids call “bad poops.” As a result, the Galaxy started a 4-4-2 with Saunders in the pipes, Dunivant, Leonardo, AJ, and Franklin along the back, Becks on the right, Landy on the left, the “space is high mate” man as a defensive mid, the Brazilian as the other mid, and Barrett and Magee up top. I gotta admit that the front line in particular was not confidence inspiring and had me wondering off the bat if maybe Donovan should have been pushed up instead of Magee, with Cardozo or Stephens on the wing.

The end result was a 1-0 win for the Galaxy over a difficult team, so I guess I shouldn’t really complain. But it was a day of small beginnings.

Man of the match has to go to Saunders. He had some incredible saves and proved a very worthy backup to the man with the best GA record in the league.

Greatest disappointment has to be Beckham. He lacked the deftness we have come to expect from him. He turned over the ball repeatedly and his passes often failed to connect. He really looked like someone who had blown off the pre-season and so wasn’t in sync with the rest of the team. Oh, wait, that’s exactly what happened! I will give him credit for an amazing free kick that was inches away from going in. I remain a fan and have high hopes, but he clearly needs some time to settle back into MLS play and to mesh with the team.

The loan goal of the night went to Juninho. It was a cracker of a shot that I guess was the soccer equivalent of a Brazilian blowout.

Later in the game Arena pulled out his strikers and put in Stephens and Kirovski (yes, he does like to fall back on known quantities doesn’t he) and pushed Donovan up front basically on his own. It was a defensive move to hold on to the lead and it worked.

Overall though, I was not real impressed with the team. Defense was okay, but had some incredible lapses. Seattle should have put some chances away and Saunders really had to work. I think when OG returns we’ll be more solid. I thought Birchall and Juninho both played their roles well and made a good case for being the default starters for the season. Donovan played well and I really get the sense that this will be a big year for him. Still not entirely sure where he should be playing, but it seems like midfield is going to be his thing now.

Magee and Barrett really did not impress. It wasn’t that they were necessarily bad (though some may say they were), it’s just that they didn’t really add any spark. Your strikers have to pose a real threat and I never felt they did. JPA’s return to action will change that no matter who he is partnered with. And I still will give Barrett the benefit of the doubt to see if he can earn the position.

I’ll take the win, I’m okay with the play, but I’m not yet impressed. We have lots of good parts, we just don’t yet have a machine. But, as Donovan tweeted, Juninho is now the leading scorer in the MLS, so let’s just drink to that.

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Category: Player News