CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano provides his Three Points to the LA Galaxy’s 5-1 win over Central FC in their opening match of the 2015-16 ScotiaBank CONCACAF Champions League.
GIOVANI DOS SANTOS SCORES IN HIS LA GALAXY DEBUT
The Giovani dos Santos era has officially begun.
Dos Santos got the loudest cheer of the evening from the StubHub Center crowd when he replaced Alan Gordon in the 57th minute of the Galaxy’s 5-1 win. The 26-year-old bagged the first goal of his Galaxy career in the 76th minute. The play started from a lovely ball by Sebastian Lletget who fed Rafael Garcia on the left side. The midfielder then squared the ball to a wide-open Dos Santos who calmly flicked it in toward the far post. Dos Santos nearly notched his second minutes later but saw his shot sail just wide.
However, Thursday’s match was only an appetizer; however, as Dos Santos is expected to feature on Sunday when the Galaxy host bitter rivals Seattle Sounders FC. Who knows what type of brilliance we’ll see from Dos Santos when he goes head to head against Clint Dempsey and company?
LA GALAXY DEPTH SHOWS IN VICTORY
Giovani dos Santos’ debut will garner all the headlines but it was the play of LA’s squad players that truly earned the victory on Thursday.
Including Dos Santos, five different goal scorers found the back of the net in the Galaxy victory over the Couva Sharks. In a match that saw wacky refereeing decisions and physical play, the Galaxy’s youngsters had every right to be overwhelmed but the likes of Ignacio Maganto, Raul Mendiola (who scored his first goal with the first team) and Sebastian Lletget stayed strong and helped LA earn a victory.
It remains to be seen if we’ll see a similar lineup in two weeks when the Galaxy host C.S.D Comunicaciones of Guatemala but LA head coach Bruce Arena will have to have total confidence in his young guns to get the job done if he so chooses.
“PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED”
Bruce Arena told his men to prepare for craziness in Thursday’s CONCACAF Champions League match, and true to form, the game delivered.
Belizean head referee Christopher Reid seemed to lose control of the match from the start, allowing both teams—but especially Central—to get away with overly physical play. However, the most bizarre decision came in the sixth minute when he whistled a penalty kick on Brian Rowe after the goalkeeper appeared to cut off a Central FC forward in the penalty area. More strangeness occurred as the half wore on as LA had a clear goal waved off in the 27th minute, and then in the 44th minute when goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams was not whistled for a foul on a heavy challenge on Raul Mendiola that ended with the forward being removed from the game.
As the Galaxy begin their campaign in the CONCACAF Champions League, expect more of the same as the tournament continues.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
