CARSON, Calif. – It wasn’t pretty. In fact, sometimes it was downright ugly, but the LA Galaxy got the job done in their 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Friday at StubHub Center.
Robbie Keane had multiple chances to continue his scoring streak, but it was midfielder Steven Gerrard who scored the only goal on Friday for Los Angeles in a hard-fought contest between the two sides.
The win on Friday extended the Galaxy’s win and shutout streak to four games across all competitions.
“We played well enough to get three points,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said after the match. “Not our best game; I think we made things a little difficult on ourselves not converting the penalty early in the game and then a few other chances we could have been better with. I thought defensively we played well.”
After Keane failed to convert on a penalty in the eighth minute, the match descended into a cagey affair with the Galaxy struggling break down a very defensive Dynamo side. LA eventually found their breakthrough when in the 66th minute when Gerrard buried a deflection off a Keane shot saved by Houston goalkeeper Joe Willis.
“It was a game of patience, and we knew we would get one good chance or maybe two good chances in the second half to score a goal and, thankfully, we took that,” Gerrard told reporters after scoring his third goal of the year. “It’s not about me tonight. It’s about a gritty team performance, front to back.”
The Galaxy must turn their attention now to a busy second half of July, including a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal date with Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday and a trip to the Pacific Northwest to face the Portland Timbers three days later.
Although the Galaxy will be tested both on the field and off this week, Gerrard believes that his side will can pick up some crucial wins over some of the club’s biggest rivals.
“The future is bright,” Gerrard said.
"If we keep that solid defensive base, we’ve got players on the team that can cause the opposition problems, who can assist goals and score goals. And that’s how you get success at the end of the season.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
