Galaxy – United Postgame Analysis

By: NathanHJ | March 22nd, 2009

Ah, the season home opener! Plenty of California sunshine (with the occasional cloud and rain shower), a full stadium (well, 18,000 announced attendance), a team fresh off pre-season (except for injuries to the starting keeper, starting forward, starting left back/midfielder, and possible starting holding midfielder plus the absence of the team’s highest paid player) ready to redeem itself for the last two years. As a season ticket holder this is what I get excited about.

Except I was at home watching on TV because I got a wicked bug that basically laid me on my back the entire weekend. But no matter. As I say, it was the season home opener (and season opener) and we did it against one of the other teams that is starting, like we are, in the second tier of MLS until we can prove we belong in the playoffs. And, like us, a raft of supposed starters for United were sitting on the bench or didn’t make the traveling squad.

This was good news for our revamped midfield. For huge swaths of the game our middle four of Mike Magee, Josh Tudela, Dema Kovalenko, and Chris Klein were able to dictate the pace the of the game and help drive an continuous attack into the heart of the DC United back line. We played an open game with quick passing, kept lots of channels open, switched fields intelligently and often found a cutting Donovan or an open Kirovski, as well as getting the right and left backs into the attack.

This kind of play has been missing for a few years as has any kind of credible threat from the left side of the field. But Mike Magee’s smart postioning and attack-mindedness has added a dimension missing from the Galaxy toolkit for a long time. However, he simply has to do better when he has the ball. Too many times the ball seemed to get stuck at his feet rather than being sent in for a dangerous cross or tripping up a defender on a one-on-one challenge.

On the right, Klein and Sean Franklin hooked up repeatedly as the two attack-minded players pushed the game at the beleaguered United defense. David Beckham has brought a good deal of strength to the right so that’s not new, but continuing to bring pressure from that side even as The David plays in Milan is a positive development. Now, if Klein would stop overshooting his crosses 50% of the time I’d be even happier.

In the middle, Josh Tudela and Dema Kovalenko served as disrupters of the United attack and provided a link between the back line and the attack that has been missing from the Galaxy repertoire for the past two seasons. Kovalenko provided his trademark bite in the midfield playing enforcer, while Tudela served up several balls to the wings or a cutting Landon Donovan to spring the attack. For my money Tudela had the best game of his Galaxy career and Stefani Miglioranzi will have to fight hard to take his spot away. If he continues to progress throughout the season he could become one of those gritty unsung holding midfielders that every good MLS team has., People like Logan Pause in Chicago or Pablo Richetti in Dallas or Paulo Nagamura at Chivas USA (and former Galaxy player).

The backline was adequate. Certainly an upgrade from last year, though some credit goes to upgrading the midfield, which helped keep a lot of pressure off the back four. However they were caught short on the play leading to the United penalty and were simply non-existant on the second goal, which was scored by a rookie draft pick, for crying out loud. Franklin was screened, but no one else stepped up to impeded Chris Pontius‘ drive towards the goal. Great goal, atrocious defending.

I fear that we may see a lot more of that over the course of the season, even with Eddie Lewis playing left back. AJ DeLaGarza definitely had a rookie outing with some brilliant touches followed by tentativeness or simply horrific decisions. No question he can play the position. Just not yet at this level. And as much as I love Tony Sanneh’s grit, determination, and veteran savvy, he’s not a fast guy. He will steady the rookies around him, but Gonzalez is going to have to be aware enough to step up when Sanneh can’t catch a forward.

One last note on the game. Despite have the run of play for the majority of the game, the Galaxy rarely put shots on goal. Landon looked very sharp, his stint in Germany was positive. But Jovan Kirovski looked distinctly adequate on the field. Veteran positioning and vision but never a serious threat to get behind the defense, take on a defender, or make the move that opens space for the shot. He kind of fades. He’s done this for years and I think it shows how shallow the talent pool available to MLS is that he spent so long at Colorado as a starter – though while he was there Colorado was notorius for lackluster offense and eye-bleeding displays on the field. Edson Buddle can’t get healthy fast enough.

A couple of quick hits: Bryan Jordan showed flashes of serious offense but still reminds one of bulls and china shops. Kyle Patterson’s sweet cross into Donovan for the second Galaxy goal was a thing of beauty but I can’t say the same thing for the rest of his performance. Alan Gordon continues to display a prodigious workrate and what I would call “gameness” and continues to have the first touch of a brick.

My Man Of The Match: Landon Donovan. Clearly the best player on the field, he made the most of his chances. When he leaves for National team duty the Galaxy will struggle for offense.

What about you guys? Who stood out, either positively or negatively? Did you agree with Arena’s substitutes and approach to the game? Do you think we could have stolen a point if we were playing someone other than DC United who was also laid low with injuries? Do you think we’ll be able to sneak into the playoffs this year? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

ALSO: I will be out of town for the next Galaxy home game. If you want to buy my ticket (at cost) please leave a reply in the comments and we can work something out. Its 2nd level right on the midfield stripe. You can see everything. Very good seats. Let me know.

Some Related Galaxy Posts:

Category: 2009 Season, Team News

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Josh

Great blog. I was there, in the stands, where I have dutifully been for every single Galaxy season. (And let me say this was far from a sell out, there were 6 empty seats right next to me in the front row.)

I have to say that the off the field Beckham distractions have left me a bit sour on the team that I so desperately want to enjoy. Our midfield shows promise, and I full on aree with your assessment of our back line, but Buddle, Gordan, or Kirovski are not going to cut it. We are in dire need of a true striker. Landon is a treat to watch but the guy is on an island out there. If Bruce can't find someone to take some of the pressure off of Landon, I doubt we'll show much improvement over last year.

In a "wouldn't it be great" moment... wouldn't it be great to turn back the clock and get back Chris Albright? The guy could play anywhere on the field and he always brought great energy and talent.

But back to reality. We really need at least one additional (preferably center) midfielder, who can control tempo and distribute, and we sorely lack a striker who can play along side of LD. Good luck Galaxy.
HUBBUB

First let me say nice blog. This is my first visit. I've been a Galaxy fan since the inaugural season and I've finally decided to become more involved. So I'm posting a comment.
Players who stood out are obviously Donovan. Glad your still here Landon. Franklin on the right was good except for the combo of his , Kovalenko's and Gonzalez's mistake on the DC second goal. Omar , how about getting your head on that shot instead of ducking away? Otherwise Gonzalez impressed me(I welcome you to the Galaxy)and hopefully he's fast enough to cover for Sanneh. Kovalenko was great. He really took the midfield away from DC and adds some grit that the Galaxy need more of. I'd like to see more of DeLaGarza he's a welcome addition. It' too bad he had to partner with Magee on the left. Magee killed every attack that came his way, always stopping the ball and holding too long. I questioned the decision to pick him up from New England. When Lewis is available hopefully Arena will replace him instead of DeLaGarza. Tony Sanneh played well, but he's slow. It's his fault we had to give up a penalty. Didn't Galaxy learn their lesson after Xavier didn't work out. The Galaxy need to take some outside shots and Patterson was the only player to give it a go. Hopefully we can see more of him and that beautiful (Beckham like) ball he sent in for Donovan's second. Kirovski seemed out of place. All of you are pretty hard on him, but I think he's a good player. He's not your typical striker like Buddle or Gordon, but more of a linking player. Jovan has good skills and is a good passer, he's good with his back to goal and pretty good in the air. He can score(look at his goal against the Ocianna AllStars)has a nice outside shot and he reads the game very well. What Kirovski needs is a different system where he can be more of a playmaker instead of a goal scorer and pushing the offsides barrier. He should not be the forward striker to take the heat off of Donovan. I think with a different strike partner you all will see Kirovski surprise you. Of course Donovan should be in every game he is available for, but when he's gone Jovan/Buddle or Jovan/Gordan will compliment each other more so than with Donovan. I wish Arena would try a 2-5-3, Kirovski or Landon as a removed striker with the other playing up top alongside Buddle. The Galaxy came out strong and agressive. Dominating the first half. They controlled the midfield, but failed to get many chances on goal. Galaxy's defense and midfield look much improved over last year. But are obviously lacking a offensive minded creative center midfielder. Kovelenko and Tudela didn't get the job done in that department. I'm not too familiar with Miglioranzi, but maybe he can play that role(The team still misses Cienfuegos). If Miglioranzi is not available next match I suggest starting Patterson in the middle with Kovalenko. The team tried to play long ball way too much, and had very little short game. They need to take more outside shots and get them on target to draw the defense and open up more space for the forwards. Defensively Galaxy was well organized and solid for most of the game. Although DC at times were able to cut the back line with quick ball movement and short runs. Fortunately United and Emilio weren't able to test the speed of the Galaxy back line.
As it was, we were lucky to get a tie. I've seen the replay of the handball and I'm not sure the DC defender touched it. Encouraging though, is the fact that we should have won. Landon narrowly missed getting a goal in the first half and Kirovski should have done better with his header. If not for a couple of mistakes Galaxy could have had the game at 3-0 or maybe 4-0. Good subs Bruce, but Jordan should have come in for Magee at halftime. Great effort to pull back for the 2-2 result. It would have been a shame to lose the season opener again, especially at home. With our first game gone I look forward to this season and fully expect to see the Galaxy go deep into the playoffs.
Joaquin

I know he assisted on Landon's goal, but Patterson was completely atrocious except for that one moment. He has skill but his decision making isn't at the same level. There were times when he had open passing lanes, but instead took ridiculous shots.
George

It just hit me that Landon didn't do his penalty kick ritual!
Colin

Nicole, I definitely agree with you that Kirovski is a WASTE. Kirovski is old and doesn't really do all that much for us. He's like a shorter, fatter, older Alan Gordon (YIKES).

I'm really curious to see how our starting XI looks when we get Lewis and Buddle back. I'm assuming that Tudela and Kirovski are going back to the bench (I hope I hope I hope). I really liked the sub for Jordan, and hopefully when we need an extra forward out there we look at him or Bowen, and NOT Kirovski...
David

I watched some of the game and listened to some on the radio.

The handball PK was a bad call. No handball.

I didn't see much of Tudela during the game, but that second goal was squarely his fault. You can see on the replay that Tudela was the back up and he didn't move with the striker. You can even see Franklin pointing agitatedly for Tudela to move as Pontius moves past.

Overall I was happy with the team and look forward to seeing how they play when more starters are healthy.
Nicole

I thought the Galaxy had a solid first half and it was a shame to give up the PK. We kind of lost our way for the first 15, 20 minutes of the second half. We didn't get after the ball like we did in the first half.

But then we picked it up and started pressing, after going 2 goals down. I loved the fight and determination we showed to come back. We didn't drop our heads and give up.

I said it when we got Kirovski and I'll say it again - WASTE OF CAP SPACE, UNIFORM, YOU NAME IT. Horrendous signing for us. He cannot play at this level and was the worst player on the pitch.

I was very disappointed in Mike Magee. Maybe he was out of position, I don't know, but I expected a lot more from him.

I was not embarrassed by our team. (What a refreshing change from last year!) We're still missing some players and could use a key signing (CB or a dominant midfielder), but I think we can compete this year.
Rusty

Nathan, I generally agree with your take on the game. I was pleasantly surprised by our ability to control the pace of the game, especially in the first half. This was the 3rd MLS game I saw over the weekend (I didn't see the Seattle opener). Of the six teams, I thought the Galaxy's attack was the most creative and patient. It'll be really interesting to see if they're able to continue that trend.
jen

Ahh Nathan, your first paragraph is hilarious!

I'm sorry you couldn't be at the game. I'll buy your ticket for the next one if you pay the airfare to get there. :)
George

Nathan, it was super windy out there. That probably messed up a bunch of the crosses, and made it difficult to defend balls in the air. Still, I thought the team was O.K. on the defensive side, but when they had all that possession in the first half they should have created some chances.