CARSON, Calif. -- A few notes and observations from Monday's 4-0 Reserve League victory for the LA Galaxy over the Portland Timbers.
The big news was of course, Landon Donovan's impressive 33 minute appearance. Donovan went into further detail about his Reserve League "debut" on the Insider blog.
With his goal in the 82nd minute, Jack McBean became the Galaxy's Reserve League leading scorer with three goals and one assist in seven appearances. McBean is in a three-way tie for the overall goal scoring lead with Chad Barrett and Jose Villarreal.
Christian Wilhelmsson went 57 minutes in his second Reserve League match, picking up his second yellow card in a solid performance, playing primarily at left midfield.
Once again, Rafael Garcia and Kenney Walker formed an accomplished partnership in the center of the midfield for the Galaxy. Should the Galaxy give the two rookie midfielders another look in next week's CONCACAF Champions League match in Puerto Rico? Perhaps.
Portland's Kris Boyd struggled to get going against Galaxy defenders Andrew Boyens and Tommy Meyer, who blanketed the Scot forward. Curious to see if he stays with the Timbers next season as he seems out of favor at the moment.
Brian Rowe made his first Reserve League start in goal for the Galaxy and was solid, going 90 minutes and earning a shutout.
The Timbers featured a pair of guest players, Uruguayan midfielder Pablo Di Fiori and forward Cam Vickers.
With their win, the Galaxy are just one point behind the San Jose Earthquakes in the West Division standings with 16 and 17 points respectively. Both sides play one more match with the Earthquakes playing their last reserve match against the Seattle Sounders on September 25th at StarFire Sports Complex, while the Galaxy play their final Reserve League match of the season on October 12th against the Vancouver Whitecaps at The Home Depot Center.
