Galaxy and Crew cap busy weekend
COLUMBUS CREW v LOS ANGELES GALAXY
COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM, Columbus, Ohio
5 p.m. ET (HDNet; ClbSN; FSN-W)
Sept. 30, 2007 (WEEK 26) MLS Game #174
A massive clash in the battle for the final spots in the MLS Cup Playoffs looms on Sunday as the Los Angeles Galaxy continue their road show, this time making their lone trip of the year to Crew Stadium to take on the Columbus Crew. Even after Thursday's victory in Kansas City, the Galaxy cannot afford to lose any more points - and a win would mean history: LA has never won at Crew Stadium. As well, Crew head coach Sigi Schmid has never lost to his former club, that he led to an MLS Cup championship in 2002. The Crew also need points, beginning the weekend in ninth place, one point behind the Chicago Fire for the eighth and final spot in the postseason.
REFEREE: Kevin Stott. SAR (bench): Nate Clement; JAR (opposite): Peter Balciunas; 4th: Hilario Grajeda
MLS Career: 140 games; FC/gm: 26.8; Y/gm: 3.9; R: 36; pens: 31
Games involving Crew: P20 W9 L9 T2; FC/gm: 26.2; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 4; pens: 2
Games involving Galaxy: P25 W12 L10 T3; FC/gm: 26.1; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 2; pens: 5
INJURY REPORT: COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: DF Chad Marshall (concussion); MF Brad Evans (L hip flexor strain); MF Brandon Moss (L knee ACL reconstruction); DOUBTFUL: DF Rusty Pierce (L hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Guillermo Barros Schelotto (R hamstring strain) ... LOS ANGELES GALAXY - OUT: DF Chris Albright (R hamstring); MF David Beckham (R knee); MF Kelly Gray (L calf); QUESTIONABLE: FW Edson Buddle (L hamstring); DF Quavas Kirk (L foot); DF Abel Xavier (L knee); PROBABLE: FW Alan Gordon (L foot); MF Kevin Harmse (R knee); DF Ante Jazic (R ankle); MF Peter Vagenas (L quad); DF Kyle Veris (R hip)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CLB: Marcos Gonzalez ... LA: Ty Harden
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CLB: Stefani Miglioranzi, Danny O'Rourke, Duncan Oughton ... LA: Kyle Martino, Mike Randolph, Kyle Veris, Abel Xavier
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (27 meetings): Crew 13 wins (3 shootout), 39 goals ... Galaxy 8 wins (0 shootout), 32 goals ... Draws 6
AT COLUMBUS: (11 meetings): Crew 6 wins (1 shootout), 21 goals ... Galaxy 1 win (0 shootout), 13 goals ... Draws 4
• This is the second of two league meetings between the clubs this season, the only one to be played at Crew Stadium.
• A year ago, the Crew won the season series, claiming victory in Carson by the minimum difference and playing to a 1-1 draw in Columbus.
• Los Angeles hasn't won in the last seven meetings in the series, the Crew winning four (with three draws). The last Galaxy win came on April 24, 2004 at The Home Depot Center (2-0).
• The Galaxy's only win ever in Ohio came on May 17, 1998, a 4-2 victory at Ohio Stadium. L.A. has never won at Crew Stadium, with the Crew winning four of the eight matches there (one by shootout) with four draws.
• The teams first met this year on April 24 in Columbus, playing in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match. Nate Jaqua's 17th-minute goal was the only goal of the contest as the Galaxy moved to the second round of MLS qualifying play.
• Coaches record: Sigi Schmid v LA: P3 W2 L0 D1 ... Frank Yallop vs. CLB: P11 W4 L5 D2
2007 (MLS)
6/23: LA 2, CLB 3 (Glinton 66; Buddle 90 - Marshall 15; Grabavoy 58; Moreno 84)
• The Columbus Crew went to Carson in June and came away with a wild 3-2 victory at The Home Depot Center. An incident-filled match burst to life in the 15th minute when Chad Marshall opened the scoring, heading home a Guillermo Barros Schelotto free kick from the right corner. The Galaxy had a glorious opportunity to pull level 11 minutes later when Abel Xavier was bundled over in the area going for a corner, but Kyle Martino saw his penalty saved by Crew 'keeper Will Hesmer.
• It would have huge ramifications in the 29th minute, when Columbus right back Ezra Hendrickson was sent off with a straight red card by referee Michael Kennedy for a tackle from behind on Chris Klein in midfield. Then the Crew had a chance to double the lead themselves 10 minutes later when L.A. defender Kyle Veris tripped up Eddie Gaven in the box, but for the second time in the game, a player saw a penalty saved by his former club when Joe Cannon sprung off his line to parry Ned Grabavoy's spot kick.
• Still, it was the 10-man Crew who increased the margin in the 58th minute. Duncan Oughton won a long ball, flicking a header on into the area, where Gaven corraled it before playing a square pass under a defender for Grabavoy to bang into a wide-open goal.
• The Galaxy pulled level eight minutes later. Cobi Jones hooked in a cross from the right and Gavin Glinton dove headlong forward to power a wildly acrobatic header into the upper corner for his first goal with Los Angeles. Yet the Crew once again answered in the 84th minute when Alejandro Moreno rose up completely unmarked amidst a static Galaxy defense and drove a header past Cannon to score against his one-time club.
• In stoppage time, Edson Buddle scored against his former team when a cross was weakly punched out by Hesmer and Buddle swung his leg to send a side-volley bounding home. Hesmer saved the day with a fine save from Peter Vagenas at full stretch with almost the final kick of the game to ensure the Crew victory.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - Quavas Kirk (Peter Vagenas 46), Abel Xavier, Kyle Veris (Troy Roberts 52), Ty Harden - Cobi Jones, Kevin Harmse, Chris Klein, Kyle Martino - Edson Buddle, Nate Jaqua (Gavin Glinton 55). Substitutes Not Used: Steve Cronin, Mike Randolph, Josh Tudela
• Here's Schmid team (4-2-3-1): Will Hesmer - Ezra Hendrickson, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Stefani Miglioranzi - Danny O'Rourke, Duncan Oughton - Eddie Gaven, Ned Grabavoy (Jason Garey 78), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Rusty Pierce 56) - Alejandro Moreno (Kei Kamara 93+). Substitutes Not Used: Andy Gruenebaum, Ben Hunter, Jed Zayner
COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew won for the first time since July 22, getting two second-half goals to overcome Toronto FC's first goal in more than 13 hours for a 2-1 victory last Saturday afternoon at BMO Field. The Crew now have 29 points with four matches left to go, now in ninth place in the MLS overall table, two points behind the Chicago Fire for the final playoff spot with the Colorado Rapids just one further point behind.
LAST MATCH
• Toronto FC came into the game without a victory since July 4 and without a goal in more than 13-1/2 hours, though having ended a four-game losing streak last time out. The Columbus Crew were in real need of a win, two goals in stoppage time at Kansas City the weekend consigning them to a seventh consecutive game without a win.
• It didn't take long for the TFC fans to finally have something to celebrate. In just the second minute, Jim Brennan whipped in a low cross from the left, and it bounced around the Columbus area. Danny O'Rourke wasn't able to clear it far, and Miguel Canizalez latched onto the ball before sliding it back home. It put an end to the Toronto scoring drought at an MLS-record 824 minutes, the club's first goal since July 7.
• Once again, though, the Crew came storming back after the break. A cross from Frankie Hejduk on the right escaped TFC 'keeper Kenny Stamatopoulos as he came flying off his line, and sailed through to Eddie Gaven on the left. He settled and played a square ball to Jason Garey, who calmly controlled and passed the ball into the nearly empty net. It was the first goal of the season for Garey.
• Seven minutes from the end the Crew hit for the game-winner. Latching onto a loose bouncing ball near midfield, Jacob Thomas went racing down the right and into the penalty area, holding off one defender before hitting a low, angled shot that beat Stamatopoulos inside the far post.
• Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made two changes to the team that lost 3-2 in dramatic fashion to the Kansas City Wizards the previous Saturday. While Guillermo Barros Schelotto was still out to injury, Andy Herron and Frankie Hejduk both came back into the team, in place of Jacob Thomas and Tim Ward.
• Here's Schmid's team (4-4-2): Will Hesmer - Frankie Hejduk, Ezra Hendrickson, Marcos Gonzalez, Danny O'Rourke - Andy Herron (Jacob Thomas 58), Ned Grabavoy, Duncan Oughton, Eddie Gaven - Alejandro Moreno, Jason Garey (Kei Kamara 72). Substitutes Not Used: Andy Gruenebaum, Stefani Miglioranzi, Adam Moffat, Robbie Rogers, Tim Ward
• "Good win man, that's all I can say -- for us it's important," said Thomas. "We need three points to basically put some pressure on Chicago and Colorado, so you know the win was good for us, good for the team. We've had a lot of ties, where we go down last minute, so this right here was a very positive note."
TEAM NEWS
• The win in Toronto snapped the Crew's seven-game winless drought, and was also a boost after the club's demoralizing loss in Kansas City, when the Black-and-Gold allowed two goals in injury time to lose 3-2.
• "We think we've been unlucky in our last couple of games," said coach Sigi Schmid. "We've played all right and not gotten a result and we really mismanaged some games in the end."
• It was the first goal of the season for Garey. He tied for the team lead with five goals as a rookie in 2006 for the Black-and-Gold, but has played in just nine games in 2007. Garey has had to battle a groin injury, and the additions of Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno has made playing time scarce up front.
• "I've had a tough year with injuries and stuff like that," Garey said. "I finally got in the lineup last week and then I thought I played well last week. Now to get a goal, it's great."
• In addition, Jacob Thomas has been a bright addition over the last few weeks. Hampered by a left calf injury virtually all season, he finally made his 2007 debut on Sept. 2 against Colorado. Thomas started the Crew's last two games, and came on as a substitute for Andy Herron in the 58th minute in Toronto.
• "I've had a pretty hard season," Thomas said. "I've had a lot of injuries and stuff. I'm just trying to get back in shape now and it was a boost mentally for me as I'm getting back into shape to have something like that happen. It motivates a person when you get a goal."
• Now, the question is whether Schelotto will be able to return to the lineup. He has missed essentially the entirety of the last three games with a hamstring injury, as is listed as questionable for Sunday.
• "Guillermo has played great, he changes the way we play a lot," Garey said. "If he comes back as well that's really going to give us lots of options. We can play with him up top, I come in off the paint, whatever, but you've got to be ready to play whenever the opportunity presents itself."
• For the first time in its 12-year history, the Crew won a road game after trailing at halftime. "We can talk about being a better team, but to be able to do something that the very good Crew teams of the past were never able to do shows where we're heading and what we're trying to do. This went a long way toward taking that next step," Schmid said.
• The only downside for the Crew is that they now hold the dubious distinction of being the club that finally allowed a goal to Toronto FC.
• "We had talked about maybe giving Toronto a goal so maybe that monkey's off their back and we sort of did that really, really early," joked Schmid. "I told [the players] they could do that after we were up 3- or 4-nothing, but they did it the other way around. But obviously I'm really proud of our team today."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
The Los Angeles Galaxy kept pushing toward an improbable place in the MLS Cup Playoffs, getting the only goal of the game against a nine-man Kansas City Wizards for the victory on MLS Primetime Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Galaxy now have 24 points with five matches still to play, now in 11th place in the MLS overall table, eight points in arrears of the Chicago Fire for the final postseason berth.
LAST MATCH
• The Galaxy were coming into the match off just their second victory since the early part of July, a 2-1 win against FC Dallas, while the Wizards had just one win in their last five matches following a late 2-1 loss to Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center.
• The opening 45 minutes were controlled by the Wizards. Eddie Johnson was particularly dangerous, finding himself in great positions on three occasions, and while he hit the post once, he was not able to find the back of the net. Galaxy defender Troy Roberts also twice caused some anxious moments, one clearance hitting the post while Cannon saved a second with a terrific back-pedaling tip over the bar.
• Eloy Colombano provided another let-off for the Galaxy early in the second half when he rounded Cannon, but couldn't put his shot into a wide open goal. Then the game turned around in the 57th minute when Jimmy Conrad was shown a straight red card by referee Baldomero Toledo after a harsh tackle on Peter Vagenas in midfield.
• The Galaxy broke through in the 80th minute. Mike Randolph held the ball up outside the left corner of the area before picking out Gavin Glinton running across the face of goal, and he sent a glancing header inside the back post for the game-winner. The Wizards finished the game two men down when Davy Arnaud was sent off in the 82nd minute after he clattered into Vagenas in midfield.
• Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop made two changes to the team that defeated FC Dallas 2-1 at home the previous Sunday. Kyle Martino came in on the right of midfield for Quavas Kirk, and Peter Vagenas replaced the suspended Kevin Harmse in the center of midfield.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-1-1): Joe Cannon - Chris Klein, Ty Harden, Troy Roberts, Mike Randolph - Kyle Martino (Ante Jazic 62), Josh Tudela, Peter Vagenas, Cobi Jones (Gavin Glinton 71) - Landon Donovan - Alan Gordon (Carlos Pavon 77). Substitutes Not Used: Edson Buddle, Steve Cronin, Quavas Kirk, Kyle Veris
• "Our backs were really up against the wall tonight. For me, that was a team that is trying to get to the top of the division and make the playoffs, and we beat them," Yallop said. "I thought that everyone played really well tonight. Obviously the two sending-offs didn't help Kansas City, but I think we were playing well regardless."
TEAM NEWS
• The victory gave the Galaxy back-to-back wins for the first time all season, and started a three-game stretch of road games off on the right foot. It also gave the Galaxy's playoff hopes a huge boost, getting three points from one of their games in hand.
• "I felt comfortable tonight for some reason, I just felt like we got that little bit of lady luck when we needed it, which we haven't had all year," said Yallop.
• It was also the Galaxy's first win on the road all season. They hadn't won a road match since Aug. 26, 2006 against D.C. United. "Home wins are important, but definitely on the road it showed the character of this team," said Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon.
• After a rocky opening 45 minutes, the Galaxy defense stiffened and recorded its first clean sheet since Aug. 5, a stretch of 11 games where they had allowed 25 goals.
• "Give the guys credit, especially the guys on the back line," Cannon said. "They're still improving; they're getting better every game."
• The win left the Galaxy with 24 points, in 11th place overall, with five games remaining. Next up is a huge match against the Columbus Crew on Sunday, for both teams' postseason aspirations. The Crew head into the weekend just a point behind the Chicago Fire for the final playoff spot; the Galaxy are eight points back.
• "We put ourselves in this position, Cannon said. "We've given up too many points in the past."
• Glinton scored for the second time in three games, his third goal on the season. His first goal came June 23 of this year against Toronto FC. That had been his first in MLS since the 2003 season. He did not play professional soccer for two years while coaching at his alma mater, Bradley University, making one appearance in his return a year ago. All three of his goals have come as a substitute (he has started two of his 14 appearances).
• "It was one of the most important goals I have scored. This win keeps us in it. We need to take care of business on Sunday, but at least we took care of it tonight," Glinton said. "We know that no one wants us to win, but we know that we are a good team. I think tonight's win really proves that."
