FRISCO, Texas – It was a tale of two halves at Toyota Stadium on Saturday night.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, the LA Galaxy came out swinging during the second stanza, scoring two goals in a five-minute stretch to beat FC Dallas 2-1.
The home team was without playmaking midfielder Mauro Diaz, who was scratched before the game due to quad tightness. But the Dallas attack remained aggressive in his absence, particularly on the wing in the opening half.
In the 33rd minute, defender Ryan Hollingshead won an aerial ball and headed it to a streakingMichael Barrios, who in turn took the ball down the left flank and maneuvered past a divingOmar Gonzalez to earn a one on one challenge with keeper Donovan Ricketts.
The veteran 'keeper could not keep up with the speedy Barrios and went to the ground, allowing the 24-year-old Colombian to stroll into the penalty box and tap the ball in for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Barrios' fourth of the season – all coming over the last six games.
The Galaxy had a handful of runs into the Dallas third during the first half, but FCD routinely succeeded at clogging the passing lanes and clearing out any attempts. LA did not register a single shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes.
But LA weren't going to be stopped as Robbie Keane was able to even the score at 1-1 in the 51st minute. Keane received a cross from Robbie Rogers after beating Atiba Harris and Barrios on the left flank and headed the ball to the right of an out-stretched Dan Kennedy.
Just five minutes later in the 56th minute, the Galaxy capitalized on a counter after a near hand ball in their own penalty box that would have resulted in a PK. Instead, LA took advantage of a befuddled Dallas squad with Keane initiating the break.
He found Giovani Dos Santos streaking down the right side, who forced Matt Hedges and Kennedy to leave their posts. The newcomer to MLS squeaked past both of them after an attempted shot and found Keane right in front of the net, who headed the ball into the net for a 2-1 Galaxy lead.
Dallas put the ball in the back of the net two minutes later in the 58th minute, but Hedges was called offsides after Fabian Castillo placed a pass right on the out-stretched foot of the defender.
The win puts LA at 43 points in the standings and puts five points of separation between them and FCD.
Dallas will travel to Vancouver next Saturday, while the Galaxy have a quick turn-around and host Comunicaciones FC in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.
LA Galaxy 2, FC Dallas 1
Saturday, August 15, 2015 – 6:00 p.m. PT
MLS Regular Season
Toyota Stadium – Frisco, Texas
Scoring Summary:
FCD – Michael Barrios 33’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Robbie Rogers) 51’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Giovani dos Santos) 56’
Misconduct Summary:
FCD – Kellyn Acosta (caution) 38’
LA – A.J. DeLaGarza (caution) 57’
FCD – Blas Perez (caution) 61’
LA – Donovan Ricketts (caution) 77’
LA – Gyasi Zardes (caution) 90’+1’
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts; A.J. DeLaGarza, Leonardo, Omar Gonzalez, Robbie Rogers; Gyasi Zardes, Steven Gerrard, Juninho, Sebastian Lletget (Rafael Garcia 90’+5’); Giovani dos Santos (Alan Gordon 75’), Robbie Keane © (Dan Gargan 86’).
Substitutions not used: Brian Rowe, Tommy Meyer, Mika Vayrynen, Ignacio Maganto.
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 3.
FC Dallas: Dan Kennedy; Je-Vaughn Watson, Atiba Harris (Walker Zimmerman 89’), Ryan Hollingshead (Alex Zendejas 83’), Matt Hedges ©; Fabian Castillo, Victor Ulloa (Tesho Akindele 74’), Michael Barrios, Kellyn Acosta; Rolando Escobar, Blas Perez.
Substitutions not used: Michel, Zach Lloyd, Jesse Gonzalez, David Texeira.
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 11; OFFSIDE: 4; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 1.
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee’s Assistants: C.J. Morgante and Michael Kampmeinert
4th Official: Armando Villarreal
Attendance: 21,907
