CARSON, Calif. – Last Saturday’s 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union appeared to indicate the LA Galaxy emphatically put an end to their season-long inconsistency, but head coach and general manager Bruce Arena wasn’t buying it.
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Not with a suddenly heavy schedule that features five games in 15 days and with areas he insisted his club has to improve.
“That (victory) was completely deceiving,” he said as his team prepared for Wednesday’s Western Conference rematch with the Portland Timbers at StubHub Center (8 p.m., ESPN2, ESPN Deportes). The teams played to a 2-2 tie on March 15 in Portland. “I think we deserved to win the game, but we expect our team to be making progress at this point and we have areas we can get better.
“That’s what our focus is on. We’re not naïve enough to believe everything is perfect at this point.”
But it is noticeably better for the defending MLS Cup champions who are 6-5-7 and tied with the Timbers (7-5-4) for third in the West behind first-place Seattle and Vancouver. Injured players such as A.J. DeLaGarza, Robbie Keane and Robbie Rogers are healthy again and the schedule is working in their favor despite the heavy workload. Three of their next four league games are at home.
Arena, asked if he feels his side has turned a corner, replied, “We’ll see.”
There is no question, however, Saturday’s romp over Philadelphia was a welcome development.
“It was very important, that’s the best way I can put it,” said midfielder Juninho, who scored his second goal of the season in the win over the Union. “There’s been too much up and down this season. That 5-1 score was a very good result for us and for the fans as well.
“It was good to see a lot of goals scored and it was also good for our confidence.”
Such an offensive output could be difficult to come by against the Timbers, who have won their last four league games in a row and have outscored their opponents 7-1 during that span. They are led by Nigerian forward Fanendo Adi, who has a team-high six goals, and goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey’s seven shutouts and 0.88 goals-against-average.
Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget agreed with Arena that there remains much room for improvement, but there clearly is a sense of increased optimism among coaches and players.
“I think it’s definitely much more positive than it was,” he said. “We do have guys back and it’s important because so many games are coming back and forth. Every week it seems like it’s three games a week now. It’s intense.
“Thank God everybody’s healthy. I think the team is confident right now, especially after that win for us. It was big. We won, and we were happy about that, but we do want to get better.”
LA GALAXY vs PORTLAND TIMBERS
STUBHUB CENTER, Carson, Calif.
June 24, 2015 (WEEK 17, MLS Game #166)
8 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
- The Galaxy have exploded for 11 goals in their last two competitive matches, following their 5-1 win against Philadelphia Union on Saturday evening at StubHub Center. The Galaxy defeated amateur side PSA Elite 6-1 at midweek in their U.S. Open Cup fourth-round match.
- The Timbers have won four league games in a row for the first time in their MLS history, following their 2-0 win against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday evening at Providence Park. It was their second consecutive defensive shutout, and third in the four-game winning run.
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Alan Gordon hit for the equalizer in second-half stoppage time, answering Fanendo Adi’s second goal of the game right on the stroke of full time, leaving the teams in a 2-2 draw March 15 at Providence Park.
- The Galaxy are undefeated in their last four meetings with the Timbers, with two wins and two draws. The Galaxy have never lost to the Timbers in Carson, with five wins in six matches there all-time.
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