CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano’s Three Points to the club’s 5-1 victory over the New England Revolution.
10 vs. 10 STINT SPARKS LA BREAKTHROUGH
The LA Galaxy ended their 5-1 victory with a flurry of goals, but it wasn’t until the team went down to 10 men that their attack truly took flight.
With both teams playing with 10 men after red cards to A.J. Soares and Dan Gargan, ample space existed in the midfield and once LA brought on Landon Donovan in the second half, the Galaxy began to take advantage. Donovan’s presence opened up considerable room in the midfield allowing players like Gyasi Zardes and Robbie Keane to benefit as they began to find space around a haphazard New England defense.
The space provided by a lax New England midfield didn’t just open up opportunities from the run of play, but also helped LA fluster the Revolution into poor tackles. One of which led to Stefan Ishizaki’s stunning free kick finish, which was just LA’s second free kick since the end of David Beckham’s tenure with the club.
GYASI ZARDES KEEPS ON SCORING
By scoring a brace against the New England Revolution, Gyasi Zardes is steadily developing into the goal scorer that the LA Galaxy have long hoped that he could become.
The 22-year-old forward notched two goals for the Galaxy in their 3-1 victory to give him a career-high six goals on the season. What makes Zardes’ success more impressive is that all six of his tallies have come in LA’s last eight contests.
With the Galaxy entering a potentially season deciding two-game stretch that includes road matches against defending MLS Cup champions Sporting Kansas City and league leaders Seattle Sounders FC, LA will require even more from their young striker.
THE CASE FOR KENNEY WALKER
Kenney Walker earned his career-high fourth start of the 2014 season in LA’s 3-1 win against the New England Revolution and if his performance is any indication, the midfielder is line for plenty more.
Throughout his 71 minutes of action, the midfielder was steady while paired alongside Juninho in central defense. But where Walker had his biggest impact was in his ability to handle pressure while allowing the Brazilian to press into the attack. For a team that has struggled maintaining their midfield shape, Walker’s presence was instrumental in allowing LA’s attacking movement to frustrate New England.
While Marcelo Sarvas provides more movement around the midfield, Walker’s steady presence and distribution could help LA down the stretch run.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
