CARSON, Calif. – It was a confident LA Galaxy who prepared for Saturday’s meeting with unbeaten Real Salt Lake at StubHub Center (7:30 p.m. Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Time Warner Cable Deportes).
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The players’ collective mood clearly was upbeat in the week of training, thanks to last weekend’s resounding 4-1 victory in Houston that marked the club’s first win away from home since last Aug. 15 in Frisco, Texas.
Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena may have been busy downplaying the significance of the triumph – “It’s not like one week is a whole lot different than any other,” he said – but players chose a different tack on the subject.
“It was very satisfying,” defender A.J. DeLaGarza said.
“It meant a lot to us,” forward Alan Gordon said about the victory in which the Galaxy allowed a first-minute goal but stormed back with one of their best performances in recent memory. “You know our road struggles over the last two years, and to come out and beat a team in a place that can be very dangerous was just what we needed as a team and kind of put those road issues and questions whether we could do it or not behind us.
“We proved a lot to ourselves.”
Giovani Dos Santos, recently recovered from a leg injury he suffered in the regular-season opener on March 6, led the way with two goals and was named MLS Player of the Week. But the Mexican international was happier with the victory than he was with the personal accolade.
“For me what was so special is that the team won the game,” he said. “Winning was very important for us. We haven’t won away in I think eight months, and now we have more confidence for the next game.”
Saturday’s opponent, Real Salt Lake, is the league’s lone unbeaten side at 4-0-2 but trails first-place FC Dallas (5-1-2), which has played two more games. The Galaxy, in contrast, are 3-1-2 and tied for fifth in the Western Conference.
Real Salt Lake is led by Ecuador’s Joao Plata, who has four goals and four assists, and veteran goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who has two shutouts and a 1.00 goals-against average. Plata, however, will be unavailable after suffering a hip flexor/quad strain in training and is expected to be sidelined at least a week.
“They’re a good team like they are every year,” Arena said. “If I’m not mistaken they’re the only unbeaten team in the league right now, so that’s a pretty impressive start to the season.”
Gordon said it wasn’t as if the Galaxy needed a confidence boost, but last weekend’s victory definitely was welcome entering Saturday’s clash.
“We were never really down on ourselves. We never really dwelled on it too much, the whole road woes thing,” he said. “But the statistics don’t lie and we weren’t very successful. To do that was very important for us. Moving forward we know we can do it and that just gives us more confidence.
“This (Real Salt Lake) is a team at the top of the league and they’re playing very well. Last week is behind us, but spirits are up definitely and we’re looking forward to the weekend.”
LA GALAXY vs. REAL SALT LAKE
STUBHUB CENTER, Carson, California
APRIL 23, 2016 (WEEK 8, MLS GAME #71)
7:30 pm PT (MLS LIVE, KMYU, TWCSN-LA)
- Giovani dos Santos had the first multiple-goal game of his MLS career, in his 13th league appearance, and also added an assist as the LA Galaxy rolled to a 4-1 win against the Houston Dynamo on Friday evening. The Galaxy are now riding a four-game undefeated streak (2-0-2).
- Real Salt Lake remained undefeated for the season, winning their third consecutive match in their 1-0 defeat of Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium. Juan Manuel Martinez scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Joao Plata; Plata now has four goals and four assists for the year, among RSL’s 10 goals scored this season.
- The last three meetings at StubHub Center have all ended in a 1-0 scoreline, the Galaxy winning two, including a victory last May 27 in the only meeting in Carson.
- Real have a four-game undefeated streak at Rio Tinto Stadium alive in the series, winning 3-0 in the last meeting there last Sept. 19.
- The teams have met three times in the last five years in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Galaxy have advanced on two occasions, including in last year’s Western Conference Semifinals, when they took the series after a 5-0 win in the second leg at StubHub Center. The teams also met in MLS Cup 2009, RSL winning in a penalty shootout.
