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Galaxy dominates Philly for fifth win

Edson Buddle (GettyImages)

BY ADAM SERRANO

CARSON, CALIF — It was another impressive offense performance for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night as the club dominated the Philadelphia Union, earning a 3-1 victory.

AJ DeLaGarza opened the scoring with the second fastest goal in Galaxy history 53 seconds after the opening whistle while Edson Buddle added two more goals to bring his season total to nine.

In the first minute of the game a beautifully played through ball by Michael Stephens found an open Edson Buddle. The confident forward crossed the ball across the goal mouth and found an open DeLaGarza who fired it past Seitz. 26 minutes later, it was Buddle's turn to get on the score board. Chris Seitz came up big on an Alan Gordon header, but the rebound found the in form Buddle and was deposited in the back of the Philadelphia net.

Buddle struck again right before halftime. It was Landon Donovan who delivered a fantastic run that sliced through three Union defenders before laying it to Buddle whose shot was too much for Chris Seitz. The goal is the ninth of the season for Edson Buddle who was instrumental in the Galaxy victory.

Although the Galaxy dominated the match, the embattled Union side remained tough in the face of adversity. In stoppage time before the end of the first half, Stefani Miglioranzi sent a message his former team by getting sent off for a harsh tackle from behind on Juninho. 

In the 84th minute, a Galaxy turn over led to Fred break away. The Brazilian found acres space and was able to dish it off to 17-year-old Jack McInerney who fired home his first career MLS goal. The goal ended the Galaxy's attempts for a shut out, but the match ended 3-1 for Los Angeles.

The match gives the Galaxy a league-best 5-0-1 record, while the Union fall to 1-4-0. The Galaxy prepares to head on the road for its next two matches against Colorado on the 5th and then Seattle on the 8th. Philadelphia will continue its road trip against Real Salt Lake next Saturday before finally returning to the City of Brotherly Love on the 15th to take on FC Dallas.

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What did you think of the match? Do you think that the Galaxy will keep up the form on the road? When will we see improvement from the Union?

Share your thoughts on the match below.

Comments

  1. what? since when is the defense stronger south of the border? the one thing MLS commits to is defending hard…hardly the case in Mexico, where the middle third is rarely contested and the physicality of the play and the players is at least a notch lower. not saying the Mexican league isn’t a stronger league (just see the CONCACAF champions league results), and I’m all for Gomez getting a look, but come on, man, let’s be accurate in the comparisons.

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  2. Well, its a good thing the starting GK for Algeria plays for ASO Chlef in Algeria. I’m sure that puts him on par w/ Seitz.

    I’ve also never understand why people add ‘honest’ into the “IMHO” thing.. if it is YOUR opinion, than why are you going to lie about it? Of course its being honest, or else it wouldn’t be your opinion.

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  3. International play is way diffrent than club ball, but I hope he gets a shot, if he goes to SA than good, I TRUST IN BB and I know hell pick the best players excluding bornstein, i lost hope in him since the netherlands game……

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  4. yep. same as he did for Everton. That’s his job in that system and to chip in when needed. People need to understand that. strikers need to score, wingers need to get down the wing, attacking midfielders need to create chances. We need to be judging our player on what they should be doing

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  5. i think that’s debatable in some markets. I just looked up the Galaxy tickets to the toronto game and it’s $50 for one ticket to sit in the corner sideline and $75 to sit on the sideline. Personally i won’t pay that much. Luckily i’ve occasionally gone to games for free. Yes there are cheaper tickets for crappy sideline seats. That said i think $50 is pricy for an mls game. Now i had to fly to England but the actual price of a ticket to a Prem game wasn’t much more then that when i got it through the club.

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  6. Um, you’re a moron. We’ll see how the typical Timbers fan reacts next season after the Sounders thrash Portscum.

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  7. Chill dude. As fans, it’s frustrating to watch your team dominate a match time after time and only come out with a draw. You’re right, we have a great team, great fans, great soccer atmosphere here in Seattle, but ultimately it comes down to how the team performs, and Sounders fans have been frustrated lately.

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  8. IMHO if you take a lot at the goals by Buddle they were only goals in MLS. The first goal would have been smothered by a quality keeper.

    And the second goal Buddle needed 2 TOUCHES to score. In the Premier league or WORLD CUP the defenders are there and the ball is deflected out of bounds. There is no way those are goals in the World cup. Buddle is doing great but he is not worthy of a USMNT call up.

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  9. No one’s saying he’s the next Maradona; he’s just a reasonable solution/stopgap at a position where we need depth. Who do we have right now? Altidore. And injured Ching. Casey. Findley. Cunningham. EJ. MAYBE Deuce, but I doubt Bradley would move him to striker permanently. Why SHOULDN’T we give Buddle and Gomez some looks? Even if CD comes back at full strength (KNOCK ON WOOD), they’re better backup options than the current guys. Both have actually been scoring, too. What other American strikers in the world can claim that? This isn’t really a move that we all crave for, but it’s necessary.

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  10. I believe the Mexican league plays half seasons, so Gomez scored 10 goals in half a season as a sub in a more competitive league while playing with a mediocre team. Not bad.

    Buddle looks good but he has faced some terrible defending, worst defending that what Gomez has seen with Pueblo.

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  11. It’s frustrating being a SOUNDERS season ticket holder??? Excuse me? You guys have one of the most attractive teams in the league with stars like Keller, Montero, and Ljungberg. You have one of the best coaches in the league, if not THE best. Your FO is passionate and devoted, and committed to the fans and success. You sell out every game in a beautiful football stadium that doesn’t look the slightest bit out of place, and unquestionably have the best fan support in MLS.

    Across the country, DC United has the worst FO, one of the worst coaches, the worst and most unattractive team, incompetent management at all levels, dwindling fan support, the worst stadium situation in the league, and memories of a campaign called “We Win Trophies,” another example of our brilliant FO. Plus, there’s at least a 50% chance we’ll be in Baltimore or St. Louis within five years.

    Yeah, must be frustrating being an SSFC ticket holder right now; I really feel your pain.

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  12. I’d try both Buddle and Gomez in camp and make a decision then. I am not quite ready to say that either one should be on the team. Jason Kreiss, Taylor Twellman, Eddie Johnson, Jeff Cunningham had success scoring in the MLS, but really could not translate that into international game.

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  13. I totally agree. As a midfielder, Donovan is doing exactly what he needs to be doing right now. He is dominating the midfield for LA and has assisted on half of their goals so far this season (5/10 I believe).

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  14. i don’t want to hear any more Buddle nay-sayers! everyone who has been talking him down has said if he keeps up this run of form he should go, but they didn’t think he had done enough to be considered. 9 goals in 6 games? that’s definitely enough. everybody loves Gomez, but he scored 10 goals all season, now Buddle has 9 in the first month and a half of the season. he needs to go to South Africa

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  15. Thanks for your efforts, but I don’t know if it will be enough for Bob to end his love affair with untalented players.

    In terms of the Union: I didn’t really think that was a red card on Migs, but why is our team so undisciplined? Our marking is terrible and I don’t really have faith in Califf.

    I would like to see Donovan scoring more coming into the WC

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  16. Dear USMNT fans,

    You are welcome for our contributions yesterday to the effort to keep Conor Casey off the flight to South Africa. Glad to be of service.

    Sincerely,

    San Jose Earthquakes

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  17. Typical Sounder fans hyping up their attendance. I suppose that’s what they’re famous for… not soccer.

    Go Timbers!

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  18. I think Clark really benefited from MLS. The rest were already European targets since they played for the U-17. Holden was already signed to Sunderland and used MLS to get his career back.

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  19. wow. we wouldn’t have had a wc team in 2002 with all this mls hate. nor would clint dempsey have been on the team in 2006, nor would davies, altidore, holden, clark, and bradley even be in europe right now without mls. while the competition may not be as stiff as spain, england, italy, germany, and perhaps france, mls is pretty competitive with many of the other european leagues. instead of hating on buddle and gomez before they even get to camp, and trusting in players who haven’t even played all year, let’s see what happens when they’re missing on that good service from donovan, holden, and feilhaber. these guys are finishers, let them play their way into or out of the team…

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  20. The Galaxy deserved the win, but go back and look at the third LA goal. Donovan loses the ball at midfield and while attempting to get it back commits a very clear foul on Torres right in front of the ref. With the foul uncalled, Donovan makes his run and the rest is history. I’ve rarely seen a more obvious foul not draw a whistle.

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  21. Lets wait to see how Buddle and Gomez do in camp against defenses that are more sound and of international quality

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  22. If the us pool was actually deep at forward. I would have taken Jack Mac for the experience, the kid just knows how to get in the right spots.

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  23. Buddle is showing great form and will probably get the call to SA with help from LD. I think Gomez should get the call instead but either one will not show the same form when the competition is much better than what they have seen. Either LD or Dempsey will be up top with Altidore and Gomez and or Buddle will ride pine.

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  24. It was 53 seconds… it’s pretty much impossible to score in .53 seconds. That’s half a second. It would take one superhumanly fast kick for someone to be able to do that, haha.

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  25. First time I’ve had the opportunity to watch a full Galaxy game…

    Dunno, Buddle doesn’t seem to be ‘all that.’ He’s the best of a mediocre group and gives us better chances than most of the other forwards do, but that isn’t saying a whole lot. Unless we get Davies back to full health, I’m still quite pessimistic.

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  26. Every game in the Bundesliga was sold out yesterday. Nice to see the stadiums here rocking with anywhere from 25-80 thousand fans in packed houses.

    How do they do it? The club system and it suites the families wallets who are part of the club. Not everyone plays soccer, some play tennis, some fencing, others swimming, but they all come to watch their BL club play and at a great price they can afford.

    When I retire from the Army next year, I am starting my own club back home and will show the U.S. over a period of ten years, by 2020, how to run a proper club system.

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  27. The empty seats are a result of not having a club system like in Germany. MLS could stand to learn from the Germans and how to run a city club the right way and might find themselves with so much money on hand and cheeks in seats they won’t know what to do…exapnd stadiums?

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  28. A few observations after watching today’s highlights:

    1. Dear Bob Bradley, Please put Edson Buddle on the World Cup team. He’s good for at least one goal for us.

    2. It’s frustrating being a Sounders season ticket holder.

    3. Preston Burpo is the most underrated goalkeeper in MLS.

    4. MLS should stand for: eMpty seats: Lots of them in every stadium but qweSt.

    Thank you.

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  29. Did de la Garza score after 53 seconds or .53 seconds? Soccernet called it a goal in minute 0, which seems pretty impressive.

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