SAN JOSE, Calif. – LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano provides his Three Points from the Galaxy’s 1-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Galaxy drop the season series with San Jose with a 1-2-0 record.
EARLY GOALS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE THE LA GALAXY
The LA Galaxy have been prone to lapses in concentration early and LA’s Achilles heel was exposed once again in their 1-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday.
Just 18 minutes into the match, San Jose went ahead when Shea Salinas capitalized on a rebound forced by a Donovan Ricketts save on a Quincy Amarikwa effort from close range. The goal was indicative of LA’s struggles early in games as the Galaxy’s right side appeared to lose their marks in the build up to the goal.
The Galaxy have now conceded a whopping 16 goals in league play in the opening 30 minutes of matches. As the team heads down the stretch run, these early mistakes must be corrected for the club to repeat as MLS Cup champions.
THE RED CARD THAT WASN’T
LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena had every reason to fume after the LA Galaxy’s defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes’ after his team went down to 10 men just two minutes in the second half.
Leonardo was given his marching orders in the 47th minute when head referee Jose Carlos Rivero called a foul on the defender after a 50-50 challenge with San Jose forward Quincy Amarikwa. On television replays, it appeared that the Quakes striker went down after tripping over his own feet. The call grew stranger after it appeared that Rivero’s assistant referee Jeff Hosking disagreed with the head official but the referee decided to standby his call.
The Galaxy are now 1-1-0 this season when going down to 10 men.
EARTHQUAKES ORGANIZATION STIFLE THE LA GALAXY
The LA Galaxy’s high-powered attack met its match in San Jose on Friday as their four-game winning streak came to a halt at Avaya Stadium.
Steeled by their early goal, the Earthquakes were able to stay compact defensively as they dropped numbers back to account for the presence of Robbie Keane and Giovani dos Santos. Elsewhere on the pitch, the Earthquakes’ pressure forced the Galaxy into costly turnovers, which prevented LA from connecting with their forwards.
The Galaxy will now head into their first weekend break in months with plenty on their minds before they return to action on Sept. 12 at StubHub Center against the Montreal Impact.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at www.LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
