I’ve Got Five Words: Galaxy vs Chivas USA Post-Game Analysis

By: NathanHJ | August 31st, 2009

And those words are: That’s what I’m talking about!

Last week I was all about “No More Ties!”, not because i have a vendetta against neckwear (and a penchant for lame puns), but because winning teams know how to scratch out wins from adverse conditions at crunch time. The frustrating game in DC was the catalyst, though it was the third game in a week played in the aftermath of a hurricane at the end of August in DC’s home stadium.

This week, nominally a home game after a week of only the one game, the Galaxy faced a Chivas USA team just off a 4-0 pasting in Sandy, UT, but that has substantially revamped itself during the summer transfer window after a season-long injury epidemic had decimated its roster.

For the first 40 minutes or so, though, you wouldn’t know that the Galaxy were the home team and that Chivas had just been embarrassed by an inconsistent Real Salt Lake side. Chivas had the better chances, squandering a couple of wide-open looks on poor finishing, or getting robbed by excellent defending and goal-keeping. While the Galaxy, who just took 4 points on the road from traditionally superior teams, looked content to sit back, absorb the pressure and then dink it over the top to Mike Magee and Jovan Kirovski.

The new-look Chivas midfield, to go with the new-look Chivas backline (Marcelo Saragosa at right back? Really?), was much more dynamic in the first half than the Galaxy’s seemingly superior diamond-shape with David Beckham directing traffic, Stefani Miglioranzi cleaning up the messes, Landon Donovan marauding from the right and left, and Eddie Lewis playing the wing on the left and right. That midfield should really create a lot more possession and a lot more chances than it did last Saturday night. It showed what it is capable of in the finaly 25 minutes or so, when it played a lot of one-touch passes through the middles, deftly switching fields and then finding dangerous runs.

But for the first 65 minutes Chivas played as well or better using a resurgent Sacha Klejstan and newcomers Jesus Padilla, on loan from Chivas, Sr, and Maicon Santos. I cheated by putting Santos in there since he’s a forward, but that combo was much more interesting to watch then our own midfield combining with Mike Magee and Jovan Kirovski. Now, I have to say that Magee has been becoming a consistent contributor lately and provided his fair share of cheeky passes and moves to get free in the box. And Kirovski works hard and battles. But I am pining for Edson Buddle and Alecko Eskandarian. Fer reals.

But that brings me back to the “no more cravats” mantra. Did you know the Galaxy have lost only once in 10 games? For true! Did you know that seven of those games were wins? Also for true. And they’ve mostly been doing with guys who I constantly dog out, like Miglioranzi and Kirovski. This team, which decided early on that it would do whatever it takes not to lose, is starting to turn the corner in terms of doing what it takes to win. But, oh lordy, do they do it in the most inelegant and workmanlike ways. But then, we have to. We’re working with Kirovski, Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan, and Magee. Magee’s the only one of that bunch that’s really a creator of any type and the guy who cleans up plays and starts attacks is Miglioranzi who is not known for his creative passing.

So during the game, the thing that really kept the Galaxy in position to absorb the Chivas attacks was really, once again. a defense that refuses to quit. On Saturday night Omar Gonzalez had numerous huge plays, but the one that really stuck with me was a play midway through the first half when, after a horrible giveaway by a midfielder down the middle channel of the pitch, Gonzalez, as the last defender back, steps up and sticks the ball away from Maykel Galindo or Santos or someone like that. He basically didn’t allow him any space, dinked the ball away, stopped the attack, and created a turnover all at once. It was a veteran move from the rookie.

And is it just me or does the intensity of AJ Delagarza’s stare remind anyone else of a coked-up lemur? He’s like the second coming of Mike Singletary’s eyes. He’s getting into the attack more these days, but I still wish he had more of that dimension. It would be a real boon, both because it would mean more quality service for a strike corps that can’t really create and because it would give Donovan that much more freedom to buzz around the field creating havoc.

I should note that Donovan Ricketts, who generally gives me the kind of confidence you get when you place mountains of granite between the posts, gave me heart palpitations when he did his best impression of a centerback in the first half. Yes, you are very good with your feet. Good show. Now stay inside the 18!

So what does all this mean? It means that the Galaxy are learning how to win as grittily and workmanlike as they earlier learned how not to lose. And they are going to need that. I know they look all pretty and shiny sitting there on second in the Western Conference, but they’ve played two more games than Colorado and Chivas, both of whom are only five points behind them. They have a bye week and then finish with six games that include Columbus, Chicago, and Houston, all in a row. Take points in those games and maybe a deep run in the playoffs isn’t out of the question. But those teams aren’t going to squander nearly as many chances as Chivas did last Saturday.

When are Buddle and Eskandarian due back?

Man of the Match: Omar Gonzalez

What others are saying:

Great post-game quotes and color from 100 Percent Soccer’s Nick Green
Grahame Jones in the Los Angeles Times
Quicky Galaxy Season Update from the blogs at the Wall Street Journal (!)
Andrea Canales at Goal.com on David Beckham’s 6 weeks back in LA
Angel Magana with the recap from The LAist
Zack Lee Rigg at Goal.com with the Chivas perspective
The AP by way of Google and The Canadian Press
Andrea Canales at Goal.com with the Galaxy perspective
Matthew Hall at The Examiner.com (This is a truly horrifying newspaper that exists mostly online – the amount of lies and distortions it prints as “opinion” is off the charts, it’s like a poor man’s Washington Times – but its futbol reporting is decent.)
Very deep analysis from the knowledgeable futbol crew at RadarOnline
AHN Sports wire report
Miguel Melendez at the LA Daily News
Luis Bueno at the Press-Entreprise (with podcast)
Simon Jude Semano at MLSNet.com with the game summary
Simon Jude Semano at MLSNet.com with the Galaxy perspective
The Party Line from the Official LA Galaxy blog
Post-game info and pics of the SuperClasico win from the same source

What about you guys? What did you see? Did you think the SuperClasico was super? Did Chivas favorably impress? Who played well and who didn’t?

Some Related Galaxy Posts:

Category: 2009 Season, Team News

« Becks Up For Goal of the Week | Home | Donovan Interview as the El Salvador vs. US Match Looms »

Susan

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Susan

http://dclottery.info
David

Speaking of rotating midfielders, any idea why Birchall isn't seeing any playing time?
David

Coked up lemur is brilliant, but the giving away more balls comment is a close second. Thanks for the laugh this morning Mark, I enjoyed the post.
Diane

Mark, I was a little nervous to even mention here that Beckham had scored the goal. Which is why I asked about the current anger level. The answers were fair enough even if the subject is still touchy. I agree with your comment though, finding space is something Beckham is very handy at.
Mark

Dude, "coked-up Lemur?" brilliant!! I do love me some AJDLG. However, Kirovski is a useless muppet. He's had one opportunistic goal when it counted and one when it didn't. He and Miserableanzi must have pictures of the Bruce naked with boyscouts. Those two give away more balls than a gay man's g-string. Seriously, even in a game where he played great defense(Chicago), Migs gave the ball away far too often. He craters under the slightest pressure. Kirovski is crap. I'd much rather see Magee/Gordon or Jordan/Gordon up top. I like magee, but he creates and begins the action, he cannot attack, crash and finish.
As for DEFENSE; those guys kick ass. I've even learned to deal with the non-existent speed of Beerholder, in thehopes that Ricketts will be there to stop anything that come near him and then wag his big-ass finger, just like Dikembe Mutumbo.
Why has no one mentioned the brilliance of Beckham running to an open spot on the field, in anticipation of where the ball might end up? Seriously, watch the replay. This guy changes course before the throw-in is even touched, in anticipation of a play to be made. That is what no one else on this team does. That is what we need more of. Coked-up Lemur. Nice.
Moon

I'm sorry Dustin..if you read carefully you will notice that I haven't compared American refs with European refs at all. Hell..I didn't even know if Toledo was an American! I thought he was a Mexican.

The point is..you cannot deny that the quality of refereeing in MLS is far below than, for example, those in European leagues. Well..maybe not that FAR below..just a little. And Ljeungberg and Beckham, for example, are just some of the TOP players ever played the game, in higher levels, where the game was being reffed by the WORLD'S TOP REFEREES! And you cannot deny the fact that most of the Top Referees came from those higher level leagues like Europe.

The thing is that..there are LOTS of bad calls and non calls in MLS so far, not that Euro leagues don't have bad calls either..but some of the calls/non calls made by the refs here were truly horrible..and I don't see that those things will change sooner if MLS itself won't do anything about it. Idk..maybe give them more seminars, train them on how to SEE all of the movements on the field better, show them what is a good and timely decisions and what not, or whatever.

I am not dissing MLS at all. I love to see this sport grow. And I would like to see this sport stay on top with other sports in US. But..you Americans/MLS fans need to sat back and relax for a while and listen to others opinions sometimes. You need to lay down your ego a bit. It wouldn't hurt a thing, would it? With your attitude..I'm afraid the league will have difficulties to attract AND keep good players in MLS. Some change wouldn't hurt.

And perhaps..you can make us outsider fans be patience more and explain things to us KINDLY that these things take time or whatever. (But for me..MLS is more than has the money to get good refs or upgrade them..it's just the willingness, maybe). Anything like that. What's wrong in having more fans, outsider fans, and having more different opinions? The way I see it..it will make this league better to have different opinions, views, on it. My best wishes to MLS to see them improve in at least 5 years to come.

To Jen..I agree with your reasons. I just thought that as fans of the club, we should support the club and the players no matter what, even though they are not that great, especially in competitions, any competition. I would like to be like Spains's fans, supporting their team and players no matter what. So cool Jen..you were right.
David

I very timely finished reading the Beckham experiment the same night that Becks scored this goal. Three things became clear to me:

1. The Galaxy management did an all around terrible job handling the coming of Becks. Yallop ceded too much control. Lalas made bad roster decisions. AEG and 19 Entertainment made bad personnel decisions.

2. With those problems resolved, the team is now showing what is possible with Beckham involved. Note I did not say responsible. He is a great player, but only one man. Without a decent team and qualified leadership he was a complete disaster. But look what they are capable of now.

3. From a business perspective, signing Beckham was the smartest thing the Galaxy ever did. New sponsorships alone paid his first year salary. Combine that with ticket sales, exhibition games, and merch and I'm fairly confident the Galaxy have already recouped his salary less than half way into his contract.
Frank

I tried to post this a few minutes ago but was advised that my post was considered spam. Great sideline view of Beckham's goal...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Frank

testing
Frank

Sideline view of Beckham goal and celebration. Great angle on the celebration...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Dick

Nathan: Since I've always agreed with your comments regarding Gordon I never thought I would say such a thing, but in the absence of a real forward I would start Gordon up front instead of Kirovski. While Gordon has shown consistent improvement this season, Jovan continues to muff any any and all passes that come near him in front of the goal. And why not play Donovan up front, withdrawn behind Gordon, with Magee in midfield with Lewis and Beckham. Donovan and Beckham seem to be the only guys we now have that can put shots on frame with any consistency. As a withdrawn forward, with service directly from the midfielders (or bouncing off Gordon) he would surely get a decent number of opportunities every game.
Rusty

I liked how both teams played positive, attacking soccer. While the Galaxy's execution wasn't that great, I liked the direction they're going into: lots of linking passes; several tries to make forward passes thru the opponent's back four. If their execution improves (and I think it will), they're going to make for an exciting team come playoff time.

As to Diane's question, no, I'm not as pissed at Beckham as I used to be. He's definitely making a contribution to the team. You can even see it during LA's game against Dallas; you know, the one he didn't play in? Based on Dunivant's penetrating crossing passes from the back, he's been observing Beckham's play quite well. I am, however, still in wait and see mode. When Beckham decides what to do with AC Milan after the MLS season is over, I expect him to treat the Galaxy fairly in the process. Whether he will or not remains to be seen.
Diane

Interesting about Ljungberg. Both he and Beckham have played in leagues that have equally bad (and good) refs before. I once saw five red cards given in a La Liga match, one of which went to a physio who was apparently lurking too close to the touch line when looking to see if his services would be needed during an altercation. Wahl's theory was that it's displaced frustration with teammates, but neither of those players can be suffering from much of that this season.

What happened to those post-training Yoga sessions ;-) ?

Fair enough on the voting based on merit, Jen! A slightly shocking but not unreasonable concept.
Rusty

I submitted a comment, and it was deemed spam. What's up with that?
Lenny

Great for Beckham on his winning goal... I will root for the guy because he his on the team... but, I'm hoping he leaves at the end of the season and takes his overreactive fans with him.
Dustin

"Ever wonder why it’s players of Ljeungberg and Beckham’s class who always have issues with the refs?"

I wonder that often, I think it's because American refs like Toledo aren't going to back down because they're not pussies. While European refs understand that the players are the boss on the field and they cower in fear.
jen

Whoa whoa whoa. I wrote the post about Beckham being up for Goal of the Week. The reason I didn't say, "Hey! Run, don't walk, to the GOTW site and vote for Beckham!" is because his goal may not be good enough. Was it a great goal? Yes. Was it a timely goal in a big match? Yes! Could there have been better goals this past week? Perhaps -- I hadn't looked at them all when I posted.

A few weeks back Landon was up for GOTW and I believe I posted to go and vote for him. Why? Because I had seen the competition and there was no better goal, by far, that week -- and possibly this year. If you compare that goal and Becks goal it's not even close -- Landon wins hands down.

So no, I'm not ignoring or dissing Beckham. We are a much better team with him on the field. He is playing his ass off and that goal has been a long time coming and well-earned. I'm over the whole drama of July as long as he keeps up his commitment to the Galaxy and the push to the playoffs. I'm not an idiot -- the man is one of THE best players in the world. I will always give him credit where it is due.
Rusty

Agree generally with your comments. What I liked about both teams was that they both played positive, attacking soccer. While Galaxy's attacking execution left something to be desired, I liked the ideas they were trying to execute. Lots of linking passes, lots of attempts to make penetrating passes from the midfield through the defending four. A lot of those ideas came from Beckham, and those that weren't I think were Beckham-inspired.

In answer to Diane's question, no, I'm not as pissed at Beckham as I've been in the past. He's been making a lot of contributions to the team. You could even see that in LA's game against Dallas. You know, the one that he didn't play in? Dunivant's long passes looked like he's been observing Beckham's play quite well. I am, however, in wait and see mode. I expect him to treat the team respectfully when he decides what to do vis-a-vis AC Milan.
Moon

The way I see it..it's the REF who needs to learn to control and refereeing the game better! Ever wonder why it's players of Ljeungberg and Beckham's class who always have issues with the refs? At least Becks is not as mad at the referee as the last season. Maybe he has learned that even though he tried to correct the refs, it's no use if the league itself did nothing about it.

And yeah..what's with the NON-MENTION of Beckham scoring the goal at all? And the NON-CALL for vote of him for GOTW? Isn't he a Galaxy player? Isn't we SUPPOSED to support EVERY Galaxy player, especially when they are up for awards like this?? *roll eyes*
Fan

The way I see it..it's the REF who needs to learn to control and refereeing the game better! Ever wonder why it's players of Ljeungberg and Beckham's class who always have issues with the refs? At least Becks is not as mad at the referee as the last season. Maybe he has learned that even though he tried to correct the refs, it's no use if the league itself did nothing about it.

And yeah..what's with the NON-MENTION of Beckham scoring the goal at all? And the NON-CALL for vote of him for GOTW? Isn't he a Galaxy player? Isn't we SUPPOSED to support EVERY Galaxy player, especially when they are up for awards like this?? *roll eyes*
Laurie

Also, Beckham started out winning the GotW. Last night he was tied. This morning he's losing by about four percent. (Beckham rants put aside for now, I thought Dane Richards' was better. Plus I love Dane and am happy to see his real self return.)
Laurie

FYI, Ljungberg's temper is worse. He just got his fifth yellow and a one-game suspension. This just after getting a second yellow (and one-game suspension) for dissent. Man needs to learn to SHUT UP!
Diane

I agree about Beckham's temper. He needs to cool it. Not as bad as last season, but clearly more risky.
Diane

I'm not arguing with anyone if they are, but are people still as pissed at Beckham as they/you were/have been? Are people still hoping he fails on the pitch this season?

The post-game analysis doesn't even mention who scored the game winner and, sure, the previous post announced its nomination for GOTW, but any other time this blog mentions a Gal nomination, its a call to go vote for it.

Just wondering if reports of fan sentiment turning around are premature.

Note: that defense continues to amaze me. I spend every Galaxy match saying, I can't believe these kids were pulled out of the college draft ten minutes ago! DeLaGarza and Gonzales are so composed, no matter who or where they're playing, its a delight to watch them.
Dustin

I liked seeing Toledo letting them play. I think it was truly and awesome game because he didn't impose himself on it. And the players went along with him, I only saw Beckham moaning forever about a handling foul in the middle of the field (seriously Becks let it go, it's cool).