CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy earned the victory on Sunday in their Western Conference Championship first leg over Seattle Sounders FC, but there was an air of frustration in the club’s locker room after the game.
Yes, LA earned a 1-0 win thanks to a 52nd minute goal by Marcelo Sarvas, but ultimately the Galaxy were unlucky not to add to their lead.
The home side dominated the stat sheet with a notable possession advantage (60.7% to 39.3%) while also doubling Seattle’s shots mark (LA led 20 to 10)—only three of which were saved by Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei. However, for all their activity in front of the Sounders' net, only a single goal separates the two teams heading into the decisive second leg in Seattle.
“Of all the results, that was probably the third best. Two-zero or three-zero would have been second and first best. But, they had a few chances too, and keeping that team scoreless isn’t easy,” said Landon Donovan, who had a quiet night. “The first objective was not to get scored on, even if it ended up 0-0. Getting the goal was important. We were a little unlucky and not quite sharp enough to get the second.”
LA had their best chances early as Robbie Keane had repeated attempts at the back of the net, but was unable to break the deadlock. Gyasi Zardes and Robbie Rogers quickly followed suit, as the Sounders appeared content to soak up LA’s pressure from the opening whistle.
After 51 minutes of poor finishing and with tempers starting to flare on both sides, it was Sarvas who made the Sounders pay when he found himself unmarked in the 18-yard box and buried a chance that deflected off Sounders defender Chad Marshall’s hip and into the net and into the back of the net.
“A.J. [DeLaGarza] had the ball in a position to cross and I held two steps back so he saw me and I think it was a combination movement that allowed us to have the time and space,” said Sarvas. “I think we had what we had to do, win the game. Going there, we know that it is going to be tough. It’s a final, but given the situation that it’s artificial grass, that the game won’t be clean, we could make more mistakes, maybe it’s easier for a team when you need to defend.”
After Sarvas’ tally, the Galaxy kept up their onslaught but despite numerous attempts including a Stefan Ishizaki free kick that rattled the bar and an Alan Gordon miss from close range, they could not find a second goal.
“Of course, you want to score a few more,” Keane said. “It wasn’t to be, so overall, I’m fairly pleased.”
Winning on the carpet in Seattle, where the Sounders are a confident 12-4-2 in league play this season, is no easy task, but the Galaxy head into the final match knowing that they not only earned a 3-0 victory at CenturyLink Field in July, but also took them to the brink in their 2-0 defeat back in October.
And that knowledge has LA optimistic of another berth in the MLS Cup final.
“We are confident,” said Donovan. “We’ve been there twice this year. We thoroughly dominant in the first game, and we were the much better team for 82 minutes of the second game. We are full of confidence going there. We are going to get their best shot and we look forward to it.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
