This match had a ton of hype coming in. You had Beckham vs. Henry. Landon Donovan involved, as was DeRo. Many marquee matchups for MLS have been a bust so far this year, would this one be a bust as well?
No, not really anyway. The first half was a thing of beauty, probably about the best soccer MLS is capable of putting out. The second half was, well, not so much, but it had it's moments as well.
The pace of the first half was astounding, both teams came right out of the gate looking to score and grab the advantage. LA got the first real good look in the 4th minute but Landon Donovan's shot was saved. NY countered right up the pitch and Henry put on a show. He grabbed a ball that wasn't even meant for him, put on a little side show, and slipped the ball past Ricketts to give NY a 0-1 lead. Nice goal and a shocker.
LA wasn't about to take it lying down though, and they stormed back down the pitch. Angel put a shot on goal in the 5th, only to have it saved. The chances proceeded to go back and forth at almost a break neck pace. In the 12th, NY got two good looks. Richards had a shot bloked, the rebound went right to DeRo, but he shot the ball high. Richards and Henry both had shots in the 15th as well, but neither of them went in.
The momentum swung back to the Galaxy after that. Angel put the ball in the back of the net in the 26th, but it was called back for offside. Donovan followed it up with a wide shot in the same minute, and Angel hit wide in the 32nd. The Galaxy finally got the equalizer in the 41st minute when Donovan emerged off a corner to head in a goal and tie the game at one. LA almost took the lead in the 43rd when Donovan squirted the ball past the keeper, only to have the ball cleared at the last second by Tim Ream. We went to the half tied at 1.
Unfortunately, we would also end the game tied at 1-1. Both teams clearly took their foot off the gas. DeRo just about beat Ricketts in the 76thm that proved to be the best chance of the second half. Juan Agudelo came in for NY, but he couldn't make a difference.
It was a bit of a disappointment to end at 1-1, but NY will take the point on the road I'm sure. Donovan will rue the fact that he couldn't score on an empty net, and the Galaxy drop points at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment