BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano provides his Three Points following the Galaxy’s 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire on Sunday. Jeff Larentowicz scored the lone goal for the Fire before Landon Donovan equalized to help LA earn a point.
LANDON DONOVAN SAVES THE GALAXY AGAIN
Landon Donovan is back.
The LA Galaxy forward scored his third goal in two matches as LA were able to earn a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire. After a sluggish start to the match, Donovan cashed in on his lone look on goal in the 74th minute. With the Galaxy trailing, Donovan got on the end of a cross from Robbie Rogers and was able to blast a shot inside the near post that proved too much for Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
The draw with the Fire illustrated that Donovan has returned to form, but one question remains? If the U.S. National Team suffers an injury, will Donovan be called back into the national team fold for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil?
DAN GARGAN GOES DOWN DUE TO INJURY; ROBBIE ROGERS CHECKS IN
Outside back depth has been a major issue for the LA Galaxy this season and on Sunday injuries appeared to rear their ugly head yet again.
In the waning moments of the first half, right back Dan Gargan was forced to exit the match due to heat exhaustion, forcing Bruce Arena to bring on converted outside back Robbie Rogers. Stationed on the right side of defense, Rogers was targeted by the Fire throughout the second half, but acquitted himself well. Where he had the most success was going forward as he repeatedly made darting runs that troubled Chicago’s Gonzalo Segares. In the 75th minute, Rogers’ activity paid off for the Galaxy as he streaked down the right side and found Donovan alone in the penalty area and the forward blasted his cross into the back of the net.
The circumstances of Gargan’s injury mean that he’ll likely be back to full fitness by the time next Sunday’s match against Chivas rolls around, but against Chicago, Rogers proved that he could be an option at outside back should issues arise.
HEAT SLOWS DOWN THE GALAXY'S MATCH WITH CHICAGO
Make no mistake; Sunday’s match was nothing that you’d want to watch a second time and you can blame that on the Chicago heat.
Temperatures in the upper 80s with high humidity at kick off led to sluggish play from both sides as the match descended into a physical affair that saw few clear cut goalscoring chances. With the heat and humidity clearly wearing on the players, the Galaxy were forced abandon their possession game, instead playing long balls forward until Donovan’s equalizer saved a point for the Galaxy.
Both Bruce Arena and Robbie Keane were quick to criticize the league office for scheduling the match in the mid-afternoon after the game, but it will unlikely cause any changes unless the issue is brought up at the league’s collective bargaining negotiations in the next year.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
