LA gets simple things wrong in loss

Galaxy finish second-best in clash of league heavyweights

By Craig Merz / MLSnet.com Staff

Galaxy 'keeper Donovan Ricketts faced 11 shots from the Columbus Crew offense Saturday. (Getty)

COLUMBUS -- The leaky ceiling in the visitors' locker room of Crew Stadium was the least of the problems for the Los Angeles Galaxy after letting an opportunity to cement their playoff position go adrift on a soggy night.

Columbus fielded several second-teamers in anticipation of a key CONCACAF Champions League match on Tuesday night, but the Galaxy still fell 2-0 to the Crew.

"We had too many guys that couldn't make simple plays, simple passes, simple traps. Just simple soccer plays we didn't pull off tonight. That's a bad combo," midfielder Landon Donovan said. "(Columbus) played hard and they played pretty well. That's a team we should beat. We know that and that's frustrating."

It should be noted that the Galaxy (10-6-11) were without David Beckham because of an inflamed right ankle and lost former Crew midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi to a left groin strain in the 34th minute. He will be re-examined Monday but the early prognosis for a quick return is not good.

He was making his first appearance in Crew Stadium since being dealt to Los Angeles following an MLS Cup title with Columbus last season.

"There was a lot of booing and a lot of nasty things directed at me. That was expected," he said. "I was welcomed very warmly by the staff. That was nice."

Nothing much else went right for the Galaxy, who entered with only one road loss in 12 previous matches.

"They have a good home record here and they're also the defending champs so we expected a tough match. It's not easy to win here," ex-Crew forward Edson Buddle said.

Eddie Gaven put the Crew (12-4-10) ahead in the 33th minute with a header while Miglioranzi was on the sideline being tended. Steven Lenhart added the insurance tally in the 59th when goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts left a prodigious rebound at the goal line.

"The (first) goal we gave was a big part of the game," coach Bruce Arena said. "We need to be even at halftime to position ourselves to try and get a result. We weren't good tonight.

"We were just second all night. The game had no rhythm -- a lot of fouls were called, a lot of yellow cards, a sloppy game. Columbus for 90 minutes was first to the ball most of the night, a scrappy game. They basically won all of the matchups all over the field. Give them credit. Their effort was very good."

An all-day rain left the field wet and that helped contributed to an uneven match. The propensity of fouls didn't help the flow, either. Each team had four cautions and the Galaxy were whistled for 23 of the 36 fouls. LA was also outshot 11-7.

"Obviously the field conditions being slick had something to do with it," Arena said. "We didn't have any quality anywhere tonight. We weren't going to beat them tonight.

"What disappointed me the most, even though the soccer wasn't very good, was the competing and the mentality wasn't what it needed to be to position ourselves to win and get a point tonight."

Columbus was without injured MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall and coach Robert Warzycha saved MVP forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto and several other regulars.

"It was a completely different lineup than we expected but we understand they have a big game coming up in the middle of the week that they need to win for the CONCACAF [game]," Miglioranzi said. "It was probably a smart play by Robert to rest those guys. They have a deep team. That didn't change how strong they were s a team tonight.

"We knew we were coming in here and playing a great team and we fell short. Our effort wasn't here today and you can't do that against a team the quality of the Crew. We expect 100 percent effort every game. Sometimes the game isn't going your way or the ball isn't bouncing the way you want it or get a little bit too late to plays. We certainly played with that for periods."

The Galaxy remain second in the tight Western Conference with a home match Friday against Chicago.

"We'll just rebound and get after it again," Donovan said. "It was frustrating because we had a chance to be atop the league. Unfortunately, we didn't come to play and got punished for it.

"There was no rhythm at all. There was a bunch of fouls called against us that stopped the rhythm. We never had a chance to get going. We certainly didn't play well enough to create a rhythm. It was a bad combination all around. We've got to perform better."

Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.