Expect to hear plenty more from RSL's Lucky #13 (Photo: Deseret News)
Last night was another wonderful night for football at the RioT. The later start times are excellent, that extra 30 minutes makes a ton of difference. The Galaxy and RSL took the pitch at 7:30 and put on a great show for the fans, with RSL's Olmes Garcia becoming the hero of the day with a late brace to propel the Claret and Cobalt to a 3-1 win over the defending champs.
I'll admit to being a little worried after the Galaxy were crushed 5-0 by the Revs last weekend. I figured that Bruce Arena would have his troops marshaled for a fine performance against RSL, and for the most part it was true, at least in the first half. Both teams took turns on possession in the opening half, and it felt like a couple of top class fighters probing for a weakness. Those weaknesses started to appear in the 26th minute when Khari Stephenson cracked the left post with a free kick. The ball bounced back across the face of goal but no one was there to turn it home. The Galaxy hit the woodwork just 3 minutes later, when Jose Villarreal nailed the corner of the crossbar and the far post from outside the box. The Galaxy nearly took the lead in minute 37 when Villarreal tried the other upper corner on a free kick, but Nick Rimando was as good as ever, jumping to his right to make the save.
However it was the last five minutes of the first half that proved to be the main battleground for both sides. In the 44th minute Robbie Findley dropped off to Stephenson just outside the top of the box. Khari banged it low near post to slot past the Galaxy 'keeper to make it 1-0 to RSL. The Galaxy then capitalized on a blunder from RSL in the first minute of stoppage time. A ball in bounced off of Nat Borchers' face and fell perfectly to Landon Donovan, who expertly slotted past a helpless Nick Rimando to equalize at 1-1 going into the half.
Both sides tightened up in the second half, and clear cut scoring chances seemed few and far between. However, I thought RSL could have utilized better service to break the Galaxy defense sooner than they did. It seemed like neither fullback was on his game offensively last night, and Tony in particular hit a couple of crosses that were real stinkers.
The Claret and Cobalt came good in the end though, starting in the 83rd minute. Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales worked the ball around the LA box, then Javi sent a great ball into Olmes Garcia, who flashed a header to the back post to make it 2-1 to RSL. Olmes then iced the match in stoppage time as RSL struck on a counter. Devon Sandoval made a great run up the pitch with the ball before dropping off to Morales, who once again found Olmes streaking toward the goal. Garcia then put it past the LA 'keeper cool as you like to the far post to make it 3-1 at full time.
After a bit of a rocky first half defensively, it turned out to be a banner night for the Claret and Cobalt. Olmes Garcia continues to be a revelation, and Morales is really in form. I'd also like to give a shout out to Devon Sandoval with his continued good work and Kwame Watson-Siriboe, who had another solid game at the back. Now, the three stars:
3rd Star: Landon Donovan--LA Galaxy
I bet Landon feeds off the negative energy from the crowd. His goal was from a lucky circumstance, but his finish was first class. He remains one of the best in MLS. Also, he was the only Galaxy player to look dangerous for 90 minutes.
2nd Star: Khari Stephenson--Real Salt Lake
Here's what I really like about Khari. During the post match interviews last night Khari said if he had the space, he was going to to shoot, period. I LOVE it. To me, RSL has lacked this in recent years, wanting to do too much cutesy stuff sometimes. Will Johnson had this type of attitude, but Khari seems to be a little more on target than our favorite Canadian.
1st Star: Olmes Garcia--Real Salt Lake
What else is there to say? The kid was an absolute game changer last night and the Galaxy defense had no clue what to do with him. He's almost like the best of Saborio and Findley rolled into one package, and that's quite the deal!
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