BY ADAM SERRANO
It was a story of two teams on the opposite end of the spectrum at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night. The high flying Los Angeles Galaxy was able to make quick work of the slumping Philadelphia Union in a 3-1 victory.
As the Galaxy continued its undefeated run, the story was once again the superb play of forward Edson Buddle, who earned his eighth and ninth goals of the season. The forward put in what may be his most complete performance of the season as he provided the assist on A.J. DeLaGarza's opening goal while also putting in a pair of his own. At the end of the match, even Union coach Peter Nowak felt that his young strikers could learn from Buddle's example.
"Edson is good example for all the players around the league who continue to try to improve year by year," said Nowak. "It's a wonderful example of our youngsters to see how he works and how he creates space for himself and his teammates."
Facing an overmatched expansion side, the Galaxy offered constant pressure throughout the night and immediately put the Union on their back heel. Only 53 seconds into the match, A.J. DeLaGarza was able to find the back of the net in what was the second fastest goal scored in Galaxy history. Offering his most complete performance yet, the Galaxy attack centered around the superb play of Buddle. Doing his job to put pressure on the back line of the Union, Buddle was instrumental in winning possession which allowed the Galaxy midfield to generate scoring chances.
"The goals are coming from the weight of the pass which gives me more time to create and the quality of the team that we were playing really helped," said Buddle. "This is just a great feeling and I'm enjoying every part of it right now."
Although Buddle and the offense has earned a great deal of the praise to start the season, it was the Galaxy defense that did the most significant job to shut down the Union. Although Philadelphia was able to earn possession early, the Galaxy back line was able to force turnovers that allowed the Galaxy to make runs up field.
"We've had to shift around with a lot of guys being injured and lots of guys coming in and out, but its been okay," said defender Gregg Berhalter. "We're disappointed to let up a goal when we should of had a shut out but all in all we're satisfied because a tough team to score on is a tough team to beat."
For the Union, the club appeared overmatched by a dominant Galaxy club. After giving up its third goal of the match, frustrations got the best of the Union after former Galaxy midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi was red carded for a two-footed tackle from behind on Juninho. Facing the hottest team in the league was always going to be a tough test for the expansion side, but captain Danny Califf felt that the club had no excuses for its play.
"Right now it's frustrating, but I hope that we're going to be able to sit down with cool heads and look at the tape so that see where we can improve," said Califf. "I'm tired of hearing that we're a young team, it is what it is and I think that we're taking our lumps early so hopefully we can turn things around and salvage some points on the road."
There were bright spots for Philadelphia as 17-year-old forward Jack McInerney earned his first career goal. Capitalizing off a Galaxy miscue, Fred found a great deal of space offered by the Galaxy defense and calmly fed McInerney, who beat a diving Donovan Ricketts for his first goal. Although the goal only made a small dent in the scoreline, McInerney was confident that it was a sign of better things to come for the Union.
"It was good to get the first goal out of the way, but it helped us keep our heads up," said McInerney. "We're getting better with every game that we play and the results that we're getting are unfortunate, but we just need to keep playing."
The Galaxy will now head on the road for their next pair of matches. On the road against the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday and followed by a date with the Seattle Sounders in the Pacific Northwest on Saturday. For the Union, the club's rough road schedule will continue as the club heads to Salt Lake to take on the defending champion Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Way to go Blunto, boldly comparing apples to oranges for over 30-something years
*have to be
LA quite clearly took their foot off the pedal. Taking their time knocking the ball around the back, letting all the air out of the game… maybe being a bit too casual at times.
And when you’re up by 3 goals and a man, and you’ve got two games in the next week, you’d habe crazy to do anything else.
I am on my phone right now and am not sure which comment you are responding to but I presume it has to do with the fact that I want there to be young white players in MLS
I do not mean that to be racist I simply feel that America as a whole would be more willing to embrace All American kids as opposed to young american minorities
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
I am from NYC Brooklyn to be exact the n-word happens to be part of my everyday vernacular I would not use it in a negative way………..
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
And…..
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
BFC, weren’t you throwing around the n-word a couple weeks ago?
Do I really have too? If we are comparing chances, LD put one off the crossbar and Gordon nearly walked one around Seitz, LA could have had 2 or 3 more goals to Philly’s one. LA had waaaay more of the ball in the 2nd half for obvious reasons, and I really can’t remember the last time I was so relaxed at a Galaxy game when we were ahead. Other than Gonzilla’s brain fart that silver plattered the Philly goal, the outcome of the game always felt extremely inevitable as of the 53rd second of the match.
Not a hater by the way, Philly has some quality out there, but they had no where to go once Miglo-stephanie lost his mind.
I believe that is actually a miss-quote, or a miss-statement from Buddle. Per the LAG quote sheet posted on lagalaxy.com, they quote him as saying:
“I think that the goals are coming from the weight of the passes. The weight of the pass gives me more time and the quality of the team we have makes things a lot easier.”
Payne in regards to a new stadium:
“So we’re not going to rush anything,” he concluded. “And we’re not going to be rushed. I don’t really care about the fact that we’re one of the few teams in the league that doesn’t have a stadium option. Because there’s probably a few teams in the league that maybe wish that they hadn’t done what they’ve done. So it’s not always the right thing to rush into it. We’re going to try to make sure to make the right decision.”
haha gee, i wonder if he is talking about Dallas!?
Torres isn’t American. He’s Columbian.
That is precisely why they both need to be on the WC team together. Donovan has provided service to many other forwards who have not been able to score the way Buddle has. I’m excited at the prospect that the USMNT may actually be able to score goals at the WC. For awhile the pickings were pretty slim, especially with Davies situation. I’d love to see him in SA too!!
You have to be impressed with Philly in the Second Half though, with only ten men, they scored one, and Arrieta nearly scored on a header but for a great save by Ricketts…
it’s because of the different skills sets each player has .. jac mac is a smaller player with less speed, his strengths are in his ability to find himself in the right spot at the right time .. he’s got the smarts .. Mwanga is a much more raw player who relies more on his athletic ability and once he learns to hone the rest of his game the sky is the limit … nobody is saying Mwanga WILL be better, but he has a higher ceiling than McInerney
Truly. That second goal for Buddle was classic Donovan.
Why? I really don’t see the logic. Jack Mac is only 17 and is better than Mwanga. They’re both going to continue to improve but to suggest that Mwanga will end up being better is baseless
Edson Buddle is playing great but people need to stop ignoring Landon Donovan. That guy is just on a different talent level than everyone else in the league, and I understand we all recognize this, but we should still give him credit when due because he has created more than half of their goals.
BFC I’m going to assume when you said White that you wernt trying to be all racist but actually meant young talented americans who can stay in the MLS for a while- bc I def. didn’t have a problem being a fan of a young Jozy Altidore or Eddie Johnson. Not that I’m not a big fan of Roger Torres or hope that Andy Najar turns out well but I think as an USMNT fan it is very easy to get behind young talented americans while watching the MLS>
Well it’s not like he had much of a choice on his first goal. They would have let anyone finish that garbage off. Was Seitz actually going to attempt to secure a save? Buddle was just doing his civil duty in accepting a little Brotherly Love.
Best thing that can happen to MLS this year is for LAG and RBNY to be the two best teams
You are def right bout the midfield being ok but right now Buddle’s shoes are huge….. maybe if Gomez is left off the WC Squad you guys can sign him…. could you imagine Buddle and Gomez wit Donovan behind them that would be a thing of Beauty
To put it bluntly, no.
finally, the return of the true battle of East vs West. I can’t wait.
Nothing is certain, but the Galaxy have a bunch of players coming back who can at least fill the gaps in the midfield with Donovan gone. Kirovski, Mathis, Berhalter (so you can push Franklin to midfield).
I think losing Buddle will hurt the most, but someone is going to have to step up. Either way, we’ll only lose them for a week or two, max.
yes
Gotta mix it up. Represent South Park
Oh by the way you are def not gonna do that….. how will your team cope when both Donovan and Buddle are at the world cup… I know MLS is gonna be off for the group stage but I have every confidence that we will make it out of the group which will mean that they will both miss games……
Red Bulls on the other hand have only ONE world cup player and he is on the Bench anyways
Red Bulls will win supporters shield and MLS cup Booyah
BetaMale why the picture change?
sounds like a bunch of frogs hating on the States! its never going to be easy for us..
Cheers to McInerney…..
Right now he looks more polished than Mwanga, though Mwanga will probably end up being way better than McInerney
McInerney is exactly what MLS needs to be a success in this country talented young (White) guys who can stay in MLS for a while…..
He will probably move to Europe after the next u-20 world cup but I would love to see him stay in Philly til after 2014
We’re taking the supporters shield and MLS cup easily this year. C’mon LA
so….
9 goals/6 games for edson isn’t as impressive as 2 goals/30 games for jozy because he’s in epl??
I hate to be a downer, but I just read this report from skysports.com that indicates that Sochaux have stated that Davies will not be fit for the World Cup.
(SBI-The story that emerged from France was false. Davies and his club have already discredited the story, saying it is completely false. Davies is still on track.)
Clearly, Buddle has proven that he not only deserves to be chosen for the 30-man camp but that he just might be the answer to fill the void left by Charlie Davies’s injury. Although I am confident that Clint Dempsey can play forward alongside Altidore, Buddle would certainly be an intriguing option…especially when considering his familiarity with Donovan.
jack mac is the real deal. see you and tim ream in 2014.
“the quality of the team that we were playing really helped,”
–Buddle
That’s not the line that you want your critics to hear when you’re name is tossed into the WC mix.