LA's 'team effort' slams door on TFC
Galaxy move into second place in West with shutout win over Toronto FC
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"The response from our players after last week was fabulous," said LA head coach Bruce Arena. "The effort by our guys, the concentration, the defending that needed to be done was excellent.
"This is one of those games where, for 90 minutes, we looked like a team, as opposed to last week, where there were very few minutes in that entire match where we looked like a team."
The Galaxy were led by David Beckham, who scored the team's first goal and recorded an assist on the second. The veteran Englishman was everywhere on Saturday, sparking the team's offense and providing good defense in the middle of the park.
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"David's a real good player, there's no question about it," said Arena. "He is a person with a lot of pride, besides that outstanding ability that he has. He did everything he could tonight to lead this team. I thought his performance was outstanding."
Beckham now has two goals and three assists from seven games played this season in a Los Angeles jersey.
"I was happy with my goal and I was happy with the assist I gave to Landon and Eddie," said Beckham. "But I think it was the overall team performance that was exceptional tonight."
"Tonight, I was happy with my goal and I was happy with the assist I gave to Landon and Eddie, but I think it was the overall team performance that was exceptional tonight," Beckham said.
Much of Beckham's offensive movement was covered by Chris Birchall in just his second start for Los Angeles. The England native played a defensive role in the midfield, helping subdue counterattacks when Donovan and Beckham went forward.
"I think with me playing holding midfield, it gives a license to David to go forward and take a bit of a risk," said Birchall. "Bruce was determined to tighten up the midfield after last week and he gave me that specific role which I felt I did quite well tonight."
Los Angeles also saw a strong performance from right back Sean Franklin, who was making his first appearance since recovering from surgery to repair a ligament tear suffered in May.
"I'm absolutely surprised Sean was able to go 90 minutes," said Arena. "He worked his tail off these past four months and got himself into the kind of physical condition you saw tonight, which is remarkable. He played a very intelligent game tonight."
The 2008 MLS Rookie of the Year, Franklin had notched one assist in eight appearances this season before suffering the injury.
"I was excited to be back out there," he said. "This was a fun game to play in."
Franklin will likely battle A.J. DeLaGarza, who is recovering from a left knee bruise suffered last weekend, for a starting spot in the back for the remainder of the season.
"A.J. has been playing well all year," said Franklin. "Whether he's starting or I'm starting, we're both going to work hard and whoever does get to play in that spot is going to do a good job."
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com
