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Puerto Rico Islanders vs. Los Angeles Galaxy: Match day Commentary

Islanders  6a00e54ef2975b883301310ff0f8fe970c-120wi 

BY ADAM SERRANO

The CONCACAF Champions league kicks off tonight as the Los Angeles Galaxy host the USL Puerto Rico Islanders at the Home Depot Center. 

The Puerto Rico Islanders are currently in last place in their respective division while the Galaxy are currently the tops in Major League Soccer. The Islanders will look to add the Galaxy to their list of impressive MLS scalps that includes clubs like Toronto FC and Cruz Azul to advance to the CONCACAF Champion's League Group stage for the third time in three years. This is the first Champions League game for the Galaxy since 2006.  

I will be providing commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump): 

FINAL – The Galaxy's dreams of the CONCACAF Champions League are in flames tonight after a complete demolition at hands of the Puerto Rico Islanders as boos rain down on the field. The Island club, nicknamed the Grave Diggers, didn't get many chances tonight, but converted on every chance that they had. The match is the first time since  September 12th, 2009 in a 6-3 loss to FC Dallas was the last time that LA gave up four or more goals. It will be back to the drawing board for LA who will need to rebound and win by a 4 goal result if they are going to advance. The Final is Puerto Rico Islanders 4 Los Angeles Galaxy 1

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90th Minute – The Galaxy are going to need a 3-0 result after this result in Puerto Rico to go through. Two minutes of stoppage

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88th Minute – The night gets a bit worse as Buddle goes down and gets up with a bit of a limp. LA pressing for the second goal. Juninho goes down after a hockey style check from the Islanders. No call there as the Islanders get a free kick. 

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87th Minute – Stephens gets open in the box, but fires yet another ball into the air. Terrible shooting by LA in this match. 

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85th Minute – Kendall Jagdeosingh with a few great moves against Stephens as the Galaxy try to push up. 

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83rd Minute – Buddle takes it up and fires a week effort that deflects off of Richard Martinez for the goal. It's now 4-1 Puerto Rico. 

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82nd Minute – GOAL!!! GALAXY! EDSON BUDDLE WITH THE G0AL

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81st Minute – Terrible defending right there. Lewis was caught completely out of position and Leonardo attempts to cover for Lewis and allows Addlery to fire in a goal from distance. 

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80th Minute – ADDLERY ON THE BREAK AWAY AND HE PUTS IT IN. FOUR TO ZERO FOR THE ISLANDERS. WHAT A RESULT!

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78th Minute – Going to say that all flights to Houston should be canceled after this result. I can't imagine any of the Galaxy players taking part after this one. 

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77th Minute – Bowen with a weak shot that goes out for a free kick at the Riot Squad end. 

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75th Minute- WHAT A SAVE GUADETTE OFF THE JUNINHO FREE KICK. FINE ONE HANDED SAVE!

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74th Minute – Remember folks, Puerto Rico has had an abysmal season this year bringing up the rear in their respective conference. This is effectively their season right here and they have delivered tonight. 

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72nd Minute – Los Angeles has been in need of a good wake up game after getting by on close results for a few weeks. I would imagine that this could be the wake up call that the team needs at the moment. 

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70th Minute – Birchall with a close range shot that leads to a corner. The Trinidadian gets another chance off the corner, but Foley clears the effort. 

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68th Minute – Lewis nearly buries it into his own net, but the Islanders earn the corner. 

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66th Minute – Here's a telling stat for you. The Galaxy have given up 11 goals in 6 games in all competitions when they had 14 shuts in the 17 previous matches (includes all competitions and friendlies)

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64th Minute – The Double Sub is in. Bowen and Cazumba go in and Berhalter and Gordon come out. 

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63rd Minute – Buddle serves up a great pass to Lewis, but he fires it OVER the net. terrible shot. 

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62nd Minute – Donovan with a header near the goal line, but Guadette makes the save!

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61st Minute – Stunned faces on the Galaxy bench right now as a pair of subs are about to come on. Cazumba and Bowen. 

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59th Minute – As one writer noted in the press box. This would be an epic comeback…

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56th Minute – The Ball goes off the post, but its a fantastic shot by the ex Galaxy player to the Islanders up by THREE goals. Shocking just shocking. 

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55th Minute – THE GRAVE DIGGERS ARE HERE!! PUERTO RICO WITH A THIRD!!HANSEN WITH THE GOAL!!

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54th Minute – A lot of clammering for Bowen right now, but against this tightly organized defense, I don't know how his speed will help break the Islanders.  

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52nd Minute – Fans of the All-Star game with every passing moment your chances of seeing a Galaxy player in the All-Star game are quickly dwindling. 

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51st Minute – No changes at the half, but Kirovski and Kovalenko are up getting ready. 

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45th Minute – And We're off. 

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HALFTIME- Boos rain down on the Home Depot Center field as the Galaxy hand their heads and head into the dressing room. Poor defense and disappointing passing are currently dooming the Galaxy right now.  The Islanders did a great job of weathering the storm and caught the Galaxy sleeping on two chances. At the Half Islanders 2 Galaxy 0. 

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45th Minute – Jones with the cross and Berhalter caught sleeping on that play as Addlery fires it in. 2-0 to the Islanders. WOW. For all wondering. There is an away goals rule. 

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45th Minute – GOAL!!! PUERTO RICO!!! ADDLERY!!!

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44th Minute – Poor corner kick from Donovan which is way too high for Buddle.  Arena will probably be giving this team the hairdryer treatment in the dressing room at the half. 

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42nd Minute – Dangerous free kick right now for the Galaxy. Donovan to take it. 

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41st Minute – The Islanders are in a jovial mood. They've got what they wanted and are now dropping six men into the box during any Galaxy attack.  They're doing an exceptional job closing up space on the Galaxy attackers and pushing them off the ball. Going to be a hard nut to crack today. 

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39th Minute – Michael Stephens comes on for AJ DeLaGarza as Franklin will drop back to right back with Stephens taking over.

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38th Minute – A bit more pressure from the Galaxy who are unable to string together the last pass. Michael Stephens is about to come on. Bruce Arena will have no more of this line up. 

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35th Minute – Franklin all alone on the shot, but he fires it deep into the stands. Horribly disappointing. 

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34th Minute – The Galaxy look a bit frustrated as Michael Stephens gets up. I would expect him to come on shortly. LA is finding out fairly quickly why the Islanders are known as the "Sepultureros" or the Grave Diggers.

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31st Minute – WOW! Franklin with a great shot, but Horst clears the ball as it was approaching the line. Great few minutes from the Islanders. 

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30th Minute – Inexcusable that the Galaxy defense are caught napping on that play. Foley was all alone off the rebound and there was nothing that Saunders could do on that play. 

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28th Minute – Hansen with a corner into Horst who sends in a great shot that DeLaGarza clears off the line. Foley takes the rebound and punches it in. 1-0 to the Islanders. 

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26th Minute – PUERTO RICO GOAL!! FOLEY!!!

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23rd Minute – Poorly taken corner and Berhalter with a poor header and the effort goes over the bar. Rare poor effort by Berhalter. 

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22nd Minute – The effort goes through the box, but off an Islander. Corner on the opposite end. 

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21st Minute – Donovan with a dangerous corner. Look for the goal to come soon. 

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19th Minute – Donovan with a dangerous free kick that bounces around and goes out for a Galaxy throw in. 

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15th Minute – Not a huge crowd on hand tonight but the Angel City Brigade and the Riot Squad are bringing the noise as always, along with the Galaxians. 

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14th Minute – Gordon gets a great ball from Lewis, but he fires a point blank shot just wide of net. Ouch. He should have scored on that one. 

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12th Minute – The Juninho effort goes just above the post. Beautifully taken effort. The Islanders force a free kick deep in the Galaxy zone. 

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10th Minute – Free kick set up just outside the box. Juninho lining up to take it.

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7th Minute –  Both teams doing a bit of exploring right now. Trying to feel each other out. I would expect the Galaxy to find holes in the Islanders defense soon. 

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3rd Minute – The Puerto Rico Islanders keeper Gaudette makes a nice save. The Galaxy are attacking to the left of your computer screen. 

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1st Minute – And We're off in LA!
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PUERTO RICO ISLANDERS

————Addlery———Foley————–

Telesford—–Nurse——Hansen—-Delgado

Martinez—-Horst——Velez——-Jones

———————-Guadette————————–


LOS ANGELES GALAXY

————Gordon———Buddle—————

Donovan———-Juninho————Franklin

———————Birchall———————

Lewis—-Leonardo——-Berhalter——DeLaGarza

———————-Saunders————————–

Comments

  1. Been to LA, Adam? It’s a pain to get to HDC on a weeknight. Most LA weeknight games are empty.

    On top of that, LA was charging full-price for this game… which is simply ridiculous.

    Also, the Galaxy’s fielded a B+ team, at best. No league-best defender, no league-best goalkeeper. A Donovan and Buddle who had their mind, surely, on tonight’s Man U matchup… a coach with the same. Substitutes (Lewis, Gordon) starting.

    Reply
  2. Yep, see “Toronto, 2009 CCL preliminary second round” to get a taste of what probably will happen in PR next week.

    But, between beating Motagua and LA crapping the bed, I can think of TFC 2009 CCL performance a little less now!

    Reply
  3. The Crew beat Puerto Rico easily in Columbus.

    No doubt about that. I travelled to the game.

    But they only managed a draw in Bayamon (which is a good result for an away team).

    Reply
  4. GO seattle and RSL they supposedly want to take this seriously

    as an LA fan im just pissed if we would have last 2-1 fine but 4-1.

    Thats a BS arena move he pulled crap like this with the National team as well playing guys who shouldnt have been playing.

    Reply
  5. The Crew beat Puerto Rico pretty easily last year. Looks like the Crew will be the only MLS team to support this year.

    Reply
  6. Honestly, people need to give the Islanders credit and also understand that upsets like this happen. In my mind, the Islanders were lucky to go in to the half 2-0 up, considering LA dominated possession and chance creation. In the second half, the Islanders basically played with two lines of four defenders. It was always going to be difficult for LA to get back into the game…and in their efforts to do so they got stretched and caught on the counter for the final two Islander goals. It was a terrible game for the Galaxy, but these results happen. The Islanders played the game perfectly after they got an early goal and took advantage of the chances they received. This result does not prove that the Galaxy are not the best in the MLS or that the USL is on par with the aforementioned league; it proves that soccer can be an unpredictable game and that, with a little luck, an extreme underdog can demolish a far superior team.

    Reply
  7. Seriously? This might be the most ignorant comment on this thread so far. Have you all been watching soccer for a couple of months? Results like this happen…to any team. That is part of what makes it such an interesting game. The Galaxy dominated possession and created more chances, but the Islanders scored on all four of theirs. It certainly is a terrible result for LA, but it is not the end of the world and it does not mean that they wouldn’t beat the Islanders 24 out of 25 games.

    How can you seriously call for Arena’s head after one result in a secondary competition? He has turned the LA Galaxy from a terrible team into the best in the MLS. In my mind, he is the best coach the MLS has.

    Reply
  8. When you put it that way…it does look pretty bad. But, didnt Real Madrid lose to a 2nd or 3rd tier team in the Copa del Rey last year? I think MLS is getting better but is not leagues above the USL. Conversely, I think the USL is better then most think.

    Reply
  9. USL play is better than most MLS fans think.

    But I already knew that seeing as I follow MLS, D-2 and USL2 matches regularly.

    MLS is the first division for a reason but I still find some of the people who want to quickly dismiss the other divisions and the people who want to say that they are about the same really funny.

    The truth is someplace in the middle. That is why there are divisions.

    Reply
  10. Wow, what an embarrassing result, especially when most of the starters played. I don’t even like the Galaxy and I’m embarrassed for them and the league. These guys never learn that there are no easy games anymore, there just aren’t any.

    Reply
  11. anybody that is seriously thinking this means USL is any better than they thought, they clearly didnt pay attention to that match and the way LA usually plays

    if LA looked like they were actually trying i would think different, but that wasnt the case

    after Arena’s halftime talk, it didnt change and it was clear they didnt care

    Reply
  12. dont go comparing the leagues. you clearly havent been paying attention to the galazy this season, they have been owning MLS with quick movement and quality on touch passing

    they werent trying last night, they were walking, and they generally seemed like they didnt care

    Reply
  13. Need I remind you of Real Madrid’s embarrassing defeat to a 2nd (Spanish) division team last year? 4-0.

    The greatest enemy of a great team is sometimes the team that is overlooked the most.

    Reply
  14. Hey Bruce, it’s time to break up the band. Berhalter and Lewis are donezo, not to mention that draft pick you traded to RSL for Cletus was a waste. Also, how about starting Bowen and Stephens?

    I’d like to see the Galaxy go out with this lineup.

    ————–Ricketts————-
    DeLaGarza–Franklin-Gonzo–Dunivant
    ————–Birchall————-
    Donovan——-Juninho——Stephens
    ———Bowen——-Buddle——–

    Reply
  15. Ahh BetaMale we meet again haha I was really just trying to piss people off and play devils’ advocate. As a galaxy fan I am extremely upset, but some of this is serious. We can’t just come to the ultimatum “oh MLS is shite because of this.”

    Reply
  16. It was interesting to see a team with two players that were in the World Cup. One of them is getting looks from clubs like Fulham. The other has played in the Premier League and two top German teams. And they lost two a team that was captained by a player who was originally drafted by the Galaxy but wasn’t even offered a contract. Funny how soccer works some times.

    Reply
  17. Pregame interview with Ricketts had him talking about how tonights game was a priority for him and the All Star game was secondary. He mentioned they’d decide after the game if he saw minutes at the All Star game. Strange. And what about Omar?

    Reply
  18. I’m a Gals fan, and this game just firmed up something I’ve been concerned with for a while.

    The defense is not good unless it’s Franklin, Gonzo, Berhalter and Dunivant. ANY other defender hurts the team beyond repair. (Insert my usual rant about overrated brazilians here.) Gordon is a joke, as is Bitchall. The famed depth of the Gals is fine for mid-week MLS games, but NOT for CCL matches.

    S#$!

    Reply
  19. i was just at a Harrisburg City Islanders friendly versus Philly Union. The D-3 team tied philly 1-1, i am beggining to think that soccer does not really require skill or ability, it is just a roll of the dice as to which team wins the game.

    Reply
  20. Look at all these people automatically casting the MLS off to the abyss after this result. Like people have said above, upsets HAPPEN! Everybody needs to stop bandwagoning everybody else’s ideas and opinions and actually form some for themselves. Yes, I know everybody is going to come back with the “but all the MLS teams lose to random pub teams in the CCL,” but that doesn’t mean that the MLS has less quality. Like mentioned above, its just like when Man U loses to a championship side or Inter loses to a Serie B side. Sh!t happens

    Reply
  21. Looking down on USL squads from on high is a mistake MLS squads do regularly.

    Reality is this in not that big a shock really, the distance between USL and MLS is mainly in the minds of mls fans and in the mls pr engine.

    Reply
  22. I expect LA to loose when they play the return leg. I doubt Arena plays a starting lineup.

    Furthermore, this is the rainy season. Chances are they’ll be playing this game with at least an inch of water on the field. That won’t exactly fit the Galaxy’s possession style. Not to mention, those are the conditions in which the Islanders beat all those Mexican teams.

    In the end this was a missed opportunity. The Galaxy were my favorite to win the tournament and I really don’t see another MLS team taking it.

    Reply
  23. Like USMNT, I’m not happy to go into the second half down multiple goals. But monumental comebacks are only possible when you’ve dug yourself a monumental hole.

    Possible, not probable. Be special Galaxy, or save your starters for League.

    Reply
  24. MLS teams look absolutely clueless when they have to encounter teams that bunker and play the counter. It happens time and time again in the CCL. I think part of this lack of ability to break down a bunkering team (especially in what I saw from LA tonight) is a general lack of ability to control their first touches and play the ball quick enough in small spaces.

    Reply
  25. I think you got it completely bass-ackwards there. The “LA gals” are the total clowns after that lame comedy routine.

    Reply

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