Galaxy pay price for lack of defending
After going unbeaten in 10 straight, LA finds itself on two-game losing streak
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"We were a little suspect in our defending in the box today, and it cost us the game," LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. "Give San Jose credit. They made a couple plays and we weren't as alert as we needed to be in the early minutes of each half which resulted in goals."
A San Jose penalty kick in the sixth minute, scored by Pablo Campos, and a Ryan Johnson goal nine minutes after intermission gave the Earthquakes a 2-0 lead. Jovan Kirovski was able to pull one back in the 65th minute for LA, but it was not enough.
"For some reason, (the Earthquakes) dropped off a little bit, and put numbers in (the box), and we didn't get a lot on goal," midfielder Chris Klein said. "We missed a few chances. We had a decent number of corners, and were close on some of those. I think it was a lack of execution on our part.
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"I thought that results-wise, we're not happy, but the way that we played, we had enough chances," Klein continued. "They made a few plays in our end, and we didn't make them in their end, For us, it's disappointing, because for the most part, we actually played pretty well."
The Galaxy did not force Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon into a single save on the day. Kirovski's goal was the only one of the seven LA shots on frame.
"Our team played pretty well," Arena said. "We didn't get enough clean chances, though. (San Jose) did a good job. They dropped off. We had a lot of possession of the ball. I think our crossing of the ball was pretty poor today. Our play in the box wasn't good enough to create more chances."
The Galaxy fell behind early when Gregg Berhalter was called for pulling down Campos inside the penalty area, and the San Jose forward converted the ensuing penalty kick. The Galaxy came out strong in the second half, but were soon down 2-0 after Johnson got on the end of a Campos header just a few feet from goal.
"The second San Jose goal was disappointing, because we started off the second half really well," Kirovski said. "We put a lot of pressure on them and then to concede the goal -- we took a hit. But then we came right back and kept going. We put a lot of pressure them, but they defended well. You have to give them credit."
Alan Gordon came on just after San Jose's second goal, and had a hand in LA's goal in the 65th minute. Mike Magee played a long ball into the box that Gordon got a head onto, deflecting it to Kirovski for a snap header from six yards out.
"(Gordon) is very good in the air," Kirovski said. "The ball was played in to him, and he played it back (towards me). I just took a gamble and fortunately it went in. It got us back in the game a little bit and put some pressure on them. But, unfortunately we couldn't get it done.
"We had a few chances, and they had a few blocks," he continued. "(San Jose) were honest, they worked hard. We couldn't put it away."
For the Galaxy, it was the third consecutive game missed by Landon Donovan, away on national team duty, and Arena had to deal with other major absences as well. Eddie Lewis missed the game due to suspension and Dema Kovalenko was injured in practice Friday.
"Dema should be back next week," Arena said, "but you can't say, 'it would have been nice to have Landon Donovan today.' You can't use that as an excuse."
"Part of the season, you go through times like this," Klein said. "Injuries happen during the year, and with the national team playing all summer you know you're going to be without guys. In addition to that, our roster size is very small. So for us, we've been training hard and everyone's ready to play when called upon."
While the Galaxy had the 10-game unbeaten run, they won just two of those games. As the halfway point of the season approaches, LA finds itself currently out of the playoff picture.
"We've left some points out there," Klein said, "but hopefully we can rally around and get the points that we need going into the second half of the season."
The Galaxy now prepare to play host to the Houston Dynamo next Sunday at The Home Depot Center. The Dynamo led the Galaxy by 12 points in the Western Conference after the LA loss and Houston still with a game ahead later Saturday against Real Salt Lake.
"We need to get results," Kirovski said. "We need to get a win, especially at home."
Pete Ratajczak is a contributor to MLSnet.com
