CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy have dropped two in a row for the first time since their fateful slide last October, but Galaxy captain Robbie Keane isn’t hitting the panic button.
The Galaxy struggled last weekend and dropped a disappointing 1-0 defeat to FC Dallas that saw the team both qualify for the playoffs and get eliminated from the Supporters’ Shield chase.
As the season winds down, Keane pledges that the league will see an “extremely stronger” Galaxy squad by the time that the playoffs start.
“There’s no problem. We’ve lost two games. It happens to every team. That’s the way football goes. You’re not going to win every game. It’s irrelevant now. It doesn’t matter what happened before; it’s about what we do now," Keane said. "This is the part of the season where you have to win because if you don’t win then, you’re going home. It’s simple as that. That’s the only way to understand it. If you lose then, you go home. I don’t want to go home in November or October.”
According to Keane, the Galaxy’s issues lay in the team’s sharpness which has been blunted due to various absences at key times this season. Keane himself has missed significant time this season, making just 17 appearances, despite scoring 10 goals and two assists.
However, with two weeks to prepare for their clash with the Houston Dynamo, the Galaxy’s Irish captain believes that the team finally has the time it needed to gel and right the ship
“Everyone is sharper and tweaking a couple of little things,” said the Galaxy captain. “We’ll be fine, but with this two weeks, we had a hard and sharp training sessions [Tuesday], and it looks like that was what a couple of the players needed. … We just need to get everybody, all the big personalities, on the field. If we can play then, we’ll be fine.”
With just two games remaining, Keane believes the time is now for his team to come together.
“This is why we play the game. This is the part of the season where it counts, to be in these types of situations when they count and to be in the playoffs,” he said. “Every year, what does every team want to do? Make the playoffs. We made the playoffs and now over the next two games; we have to position ourselves where we have a home advantage... [The past] doesn’t matter. If we weren’t consistent before, we have to be consistent now. If you’re not consistent now, then you’ll get knocked out. It’s simple.”
