CHESTER, Pa. – LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano offers his Three Points to the LA Galaxy’s comprehensive 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night at PPL Park.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
The LA Galaxy weathered the storm from the Philadelphia Union, heading in halftime tied 1-1. But once the whistle sounded for the start of the second half, LA responded tallying three unanswered goals to win 4-1.
Buoyed by the return of Robbie Keane and Todd Dunivant as well as the improved play of Landon Donovan, the Galaxy appeared settled heading into the second half. It was the combination of Keane and Donovan that spurred LA on to victory as the pair played a role in each of LA’s four goals on the night. In particular, the impact of Keane could not be understated as the Galaxy captain’s aggressiveness toward goal seemed to lift his teammates.
On the defensive end, the Galaxy back line seemed motivated to perform after conceding three goals in the second half of their 3-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday. They had plenty of work to do as the Union threw numbers forward to fight their way back into the match, but the Galaxy defense stayed compact to help LA snap a two game losing streak.
LANDON DONOVAN SCORES ONE GOAL AND NOTCHES TWO ASSISTS IN VICTORY
If Landon Donovan wants to return to the U.S. National Team, he knows that he’s going to have to impress with the LA Galaxy and after a week of speculation, he responded with a massive performance against the Philadelphia Union.
LISTEN: Donovan on All-Access Podcast
A danger going forward throughout, Donovan notched a goal and two assists in LA’s 4-1 victory over the Union. Against Philadelphia, Donovan’s passing touch was on point as he completed 50 of his 71 passes on night including his two assists. His goal was just as impressive as he cut through the Union defense and coolly finished his second goal of the season. But his contributions weren’t limited to the offensive side as he repeatedly tracked back in help out on defense making eight recoveries.
The performance comes on a memorable night for Donovan as he became one of four Galaxy players (LA legends Cobi Jones, Kevin Hartman and Mauricio Cienfuegos are the others), who have made 200 regular season appearances for the club. Now the toughest part for Donovan will be stringing together multiple impressive performances in a row. He’ll have an opportunity for a repeat performance on Sunday when LA wraps up their road trip against the New York Red Bulls. (10am PT, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)
LA GALAXY STILL UNBEATEN WHEN SCORING THE FIRST GOAL
Wednesday’s clash was not a walk in the park for the LA Galaxy, but in the end the club maintained their unbeaten record in when they score the first goal.
Their victory over the Union included, the Galaxy are now 5-0-2 when they score first compared with 0-3-0 when they are the first team to concede. Although the Union equalized 20 minutes after the Galaxy’s opening goal in the third minute, Bruce Arena’s squad managed to score three unanswered goals in the second half to best the Union.
As the Galaxy look ahead to their clash with the Red Bulls on Sunday and beyond, starting fast out of the gates appears to be vital to future success.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
