Red Bulls fall to Galaxy on Donovan penalty kick
New York can't score, suffers another loss on road
It was a sudden motion by Stammler that perhaps he couldn't avoid late in the first half. Donovan tried sending a centered pass from just inside the box with Stammler marking him a few feet away. But Donovan's pass ricocheted off Stammler's arm, which was cocked at a 90-degree angle inches from his chest.
That was enough for linesman Frank Anderson to raise his flag, indicating to referee Abbey Okulaja of the handball. Okulaja delayed for a few seconds before blowing the whistle. Red Bulls players briefly argued the call but replays showed the ball hit Stammler's arm.
Donovan converted the penalty kick in the 39th minute helping the Galaxy, who were coming off four consecutive ties, to their first win of the season. It was the third consecutive loss of the season for the Red Bulls.
Donovan, the Galaxy's leading scorer with four goals, sent his shot to the left of a diving New York goalkeeper Jon Conway. The outcome is also New York's fourth loss on the road in five matches. The Red Bulls had not lost to Los Angeles since July 4 in 2006, also a 1-0 outing. New York is 8-2-5 against the Galaxy in 15 regular season meetings.
Saturday's match had a lethargic start.
The first shot on goal came in the 14th minute when New York defender Alfredo Pacheco sent a shot from about 35 yards out straight into the hands of LA goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
Perhaps the Galaxy's best chance at a goal came in the 31st minute when Dema Kovalenko fed Chris Klein a rolling filtered pass into the penalty area. Klein sprinted free in the box with only Conway to beat.
Conway closed off Klein's angle to stop Klein's shot from left to right from about 10 yards out.
The Galaxy's first opportunity at a score came in the 17th minute when an Eddie Lewis centered pass off a free kick zoomed past Gregg Berhalter to the left of Conway's right post.
New York threatened on a couple corner kicks in the first half. Kevin Goldthwaite poked at a Jorge Rojas corner kick in the 23rd, resulting in a shot. But Goldthwaite didn't get enough of the ball to beat Ricketts, who made a diving save to his left.
Goldthwaite couldn't get a comfortable position with Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant marking him closely. New York would not produce another clear opportunity as the Galaxy pressured and pushed forward late in the match.
Conway helped keep it a 1-0 result with a save in the 82nd minute. Galaxy forward Edson Buddle sent a point-blank, right-footed shot straight to Conway, who directed the shot over the crossbar.
Ivan Orozco is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
New York Red Bulls
(1-5-2)
vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
(1-1-4)
May 02, 2009 -- The Home Depot Center
Scoring Summary:
LA --
Landon Donovan 4
(penalty kick)
39
New York Red Bulls -- Jon Conway, Carlos Johnson, Kevin Goldthwaite, Carlos Mendes, Alfredo Pacheco (Danleigh Borman 66), Macoumba Kandji, Jorge Rojas, Seth Stammler, Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Albert Celades 59), Juan Pablo Angel, Dane Richards (John Wolyniec 79),
Substitutes Not Used: Danny Cepero, Mike Petke, Luke Sassano, Khano Smith
Los Angeles Galaxy -- Donovan Ricketts, Sean Franklin, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant, Chris Klein (Bryan Jordan 75), Dema Kovalenko, Josh Tudela (Stefani Miglioranzi 68), Eddie Lewis, Edson Buddle (Jovan Kirovski 85), Landon Donovan,
Substitutes Not Used: Alan Gordon, Mike Magee, Tony Sanneh, Josh Saunders
| Los Angeles Galaxy | New York Red Bulls | |||
| total shots: | 6 | (Landon Donovan 3) | 3 | (3 tied with 1) |
| shots on goal: | 5 | (Landon Donovan 2) | 1 | (Alfredo Pacheco 1) |
| fouls: | 11 | (Edson Buddle 5) | 8 |
(Carlos Johnson 2, Seth Stammler 2) |
| offsides: | 3 | (Edson Buddle 2) | 4 | (Juan Pablo Angel 3) |
| corner kicks: | 2 | (Landon Donovan 2) | 6 | (Jorge Rojas 3) |
| saves: | 1 | (Donovan Ricketts 1) | 4 | (Jon Conway 4) |
Misconduct Summary:
NY -- Carlos Johnson (caution; Tactical Foul) 76
referee: Abiodun Okulaja
Referee's Assistants: David Bragg; Frank Anderson
4th official: Baldomero Toledo
time of game: 1:51
attendance: 21,006
weather: Cloudy -and- 59 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
