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Galaxy advance to CCL Quarterfinals with win over Motagua

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BY ADAM SERRANO

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras. –- The Los Angeles Galaxy booked their ticket to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Club Motagua on Thursday night in Honduras. 

Juninho's first half goal was decisive as the Galaxy qualified for the knock out rounds as the winners of Group A alongside runners-up Morelia. Los Angeles advanced by holding the goal differential tie breaker among games involving Morelia and Alajuelense, who each finished with 12 points.

“It's important to advance because of who we are and what team we play for," said midfielder David Beckham.  ”It was a big game tonight and we showed ou rcharacter winning 1-0 and we're very happy to be through to the next round because when you play for a club like the Galaxy it's expected of you.”

After a sloppy start to the match, the Galaxy were able to break through in the 29th minute when Juninho unleashed a shot from 35 yards that dropped over the head of Motagua goalkeeper Donaldo Morales. 

The goal was Juninho's second in two straight  CCL matches. His first coming in the dying minutes of the Galaxy's 2-1 victory with Morelia on September 29th that set up the must-win in Honduras. It was also Juninho's sixth goal in all competitions this season for the Galaxy and his fifth from beyond the box. 

"That's what I'm becoming known for, it's my charateristic," Juninho said of his clutch goals. "It's all about training. I just try to get myself in the right position. I was in front of the guys and the ball was in front of me, but it's all about my training." 

The Hondurans struggled to challenge the Galaxy throughout the match, but forced several key saves from goalkeeper Josh Saunders at various points. In the second half in particular, former MLS star Amado Guevara utalized the vast field at the Estadio Nacional to put the Galaxy defense under pressure.

Ultimately though, the Galaxy defense did not yield. In the game's dying moments, Motagua threatened to score an equalizer, but defender Frankie Hejduk was able to make a slide tackle on Pando Ramirez's chance in the box to preserve the victory. Although Motagua did not steal a point, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena had nothing but praise for the ex-MLS MVP and the rest of his club. 

"Not an easy game. Difficult conditions, slick field and we were a little bit tired, but our objective tonight was to win and advance and we achieved that," said Arena. "Motagua played well, Amado Guevara for me is a great player and one of the biggest mistakes I've made in my coaching career is to move Amado from New York to Chivas USA many years ago." 

Despite being met with jeers and obscenities in other locales during their CCL campaign, the Galaxy received a generally positive reaction in Tegucigalpa. Throughout the match, the Galaxy were cheered by a crowd that was full of Galaxy jerseys. 

The Galaxy become the third MLS team in the quarterfinals joining Toronto FC and the Seatle Sounders. As victors of Group A, the Galaxy may meet either Seattle, Toronto or Salvadorian side Metapan in the quarterfinals. No matter whom they face in the next round, the Galaxy are ready for the challenge. 

"We knew that this tournament was going to be difficult, but we're fortunate because we have a lot of guys that have been through a lot of these games and know what to expect," said Landon Donovan, who went 29 minutes off the bench. "It was not an easy game tonight and our guys did a great job."

Comments

  1. Correct. The 4 US berths go to the Open Cup winner, the Supporters Shield winner, and the MLS Cup finalists. And a 5th MLS team is pretty much a lock through the Canadian Nutralite Challenge or whatever it’s called.

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  2. They may still yet if LA or Seattle make to the MLS Cup final. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but the 3rd & 4th berths goes to the the MLS Cup winner & runner up. If either LA or Seattle make it to the final, then one of their berths is passed to the 3rd highest ranked MLS team from the regular season.

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  3. Stunk it up? The dangerous Bengston was neutralized….MLS teams need to look at bringing him in. He is a perfect fit for the league.

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  4. I second that beachbum – Over the last several months Omar has actually improved his distribution. Last night was just a bad performance, overall he has been very solid lately. I don’t think he would have been beat on that header in the Ecuador match -just sayin.

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  5. Beckham was the one that played very poorly last night. He almost cost the win twice by giving the ball up just outside the 18.

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  6. thanks for the reply. I am a Galaxy fan too

    I remember the foul you’re talking about, early in the match, and it was a bad call. But the ref settled down and his linesmen were tested continually with the offsides calls and got each one correct I think. those were important

    Lopez has been typically invisible which made last night’s effort a pleasant surprise, especially given the magnitude of the game on the road

    I agree with all the rest you said

    don’t you think Beckham’s back looks like it’s bugging him?

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  7. I am a Galaxy fan, so hear me out.

    Beckham did look bad…but, honestly so did the whole team, with the exception of Juninho’s shining moment.

    Lopez was mostly invisible.

    Hedjuk is done, scares the Sh*t out of me.

    Donovan looked horrible, he was jogging around from the minute he came in. Maybe he is not 100%, but at least give us 1 sprint.

    Why does Birchall think he can take players on? He is useless going forward.

    The ref could have been worse, but I distinctly remember him giving a foul where there WAS no touch at all (should have been a diving call), and failing to give a penalty to the Galaxy.

    Hopefully, they look better in the quarters.

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  8. worst game I’ve seen Beckham play in the uniform…he looks hurt to me and will need to play better if the Galaxy are to contend for the MLS Cup

    best game Lopez has played in the uniform, hands down

    Dunivant could use a break and looks tired, and Frankie was lucky not to have gaffed the game away

    what a goal from Juninho!

    well officiated game to me. Credit to the zebras

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  9. not sure if stinking it up in this one game had anything to do with it. the criticism about him is he doesn’t distribute well from the back. he didn’t distribute well, which means he played as expected…

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  10. Well done Galaxy! Three MLS teams into the quarters,…pleased for Toronto and Seattle as well.

    Hoping to see three MLS teams in the semis!

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  11. Seems like the teams progressing to CCL quarterfinals is a pretty good indication of north american league quality. Four mexican teams (three group winners), three mls teams (one group winner), and one other. MLS quality is on the rise!

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  12. Agreed, I’m hoping Houston and Dallas are out of the playoffs by Nov 3rd and 4th.

    I’d love to see George John have a go at it but with almost 2 full weeks in camp under Klinsmann. Cameron has only recently gone back to the Center Back position but he’s exactly what Klinsmann wants, and I think next year he’ll for sure start battling the Omar’s, Johns (if he’s even here), Olave, Ihemelu and Borchers for best XI spots.

    Cameron can run and close people down, as well as use that to make runs out of the back and join as well as link the attack.
    He has the size and could almost say he has great strength, but he needs to work on that, Berbatov made thim look a little weak at the All-Star game…

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  13. Omar stunk it up today like the rest of the team. I give him credit for going with the flow… the Nats could use that kind of flexibility.

    Outside the box people… Outside.

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  14. No one played the ball well in this game. Beckham’s service was poor. The field was terrible – thick and bumpy. It’s hardly a good data point for judging Omar’s passing/distribution. He should be called into the January camp and then let the MNT staff evaluate him. No one is saying he should start against France, but he deserves a good look — a fair shake — in camp by Klinnsman and staff.

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  15. You also dont grow testicles at Reams age which might I add is nearly two years older than Omar. I’ll take guts over ball control any day. Especially in central defense.

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  16. I’d much rather see them meet in the uarters. The quarter matches occur in February, before the MLS season starts. It’s a significant disadvantage to the MLS team, one that is negated if 2 MLS teams are playing each other.

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  17. Tonight was another showcase of why Omar Gonzalez is so far down on the USMNT depth chart. If he is that bad with the ball against a lower level CCL squad I wouldn’t want to see him against international competition.

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  18. I’d rather they be split strictly from a fan’s perspective of knowing who to cheer for in each pairing. Either way, it’s a good problem to have.

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  19. after watching omar play, i can see why he isn’t called into the national team…he has good positioning defensively but he is quite poor with the ball at his feet…it seems his first instinct is to get rid of the ball….he had many turnovers against a team that wasn’t overly strong….if he has difficulty distributing the ball against this level of competition, how can he do it against stronger international level opponents….i think because of his bad distribution, many pushes forward would be completely nullified…hopefully klinsy will call him to january camp where the staff will have more time to work with him to tell him in what aspects he needs to improve….

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  20. Do people want two MLS teams to meet in the quarterfinals to guarantee at least one is in the semis? Or roll the dice and have SEA and LAG in different quarters matchups?

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