photo by Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
HARRISON, N.J. — Omar Gonzalez had the ball at his feet on a number of occasions on Sunday, but when the LA Galaxy centerback looked up to survey his options he did not see many of his teammates.
Instead, Gonzalez saw several white jerseys sprinting directly at him. It was the New York Red Bulls applying their touted high pressure, a tactic that was effective yet not enough to knock off the rigid Galaxy.
Los Angeles and New York played to a hard-fought 1-1 draw in their only regular season meeting of 2015 on Sunday at Red Bull Arena. A fortuitous Felipe header in the second half negated Bradford Jamieson’s early opener, preventing the Red Bulls from suffering their first defeat of the season.
That New York was even in a position to lose the match came down to LA’s stingy defending and smart gameplan. The Galaxy conceded a good amount of possession and were off the mark with their passing – finishing the game with 67 percent accuracy – but their combination of physical toughness and intelligent decision-making allowed them to work through the Red Bulls’ successful high-pressure system.
“Trying to play quick through the midfield,” said Galaxy centerback AJ DeLaGarza when asked how the club handled New York’s tactic. “I thought we did all right with it, but at the same time we knew away from home that you want to be safe. If you’re being high pressured like we were, we just play the ball up.
“We have (Alan Gordon) who can hold up against any centerbacks in this league. We get it to him, and we move out.”
No risks meant no real worries.
Whereas other teams have tried to play out of the back in recent weeks against New York and suffered the consequences, LA chose to be a bit more direct. The reigning MLS Cup champions were content with giving the Red Bulls lengthy spells of possession, and tried to absorb the pressure with numbers behind the ball while looking to hit quickly on the counter.
The Galaxy defense was on the backfoot for much of the match, but not overly tested in the final third by a Red Bulls team that struggled to find answers in the attacking third. LA goalkeeper Jaime Penedo was asked to make a couple of big stops on Bradley Wright-Phillips, but those were two of the only instances in which the Panamanian had to really break a sweat.
In fact, Penedo and the Galaxy defense were only beaten by a lucky – unlucky in their case – deflection that caromed off the face of Felipe and into the back of the net in the 58th minute.
“I think we were a bit unfortunate not to come away with three points. I don’t think that they were really dangerous at any point in time in the match,” said LA right back Dan Gargan. “I think they obviously got a fortunate bounce for their goal, but I felt we had them under control for, I’d say, the majority of the game.”
Added Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena: “Defensively, I just think we did a solid job throughout and prevent them (from getting) too many chances. Over the last 15 minutes or so, I’d say we conceded too many set pieces, but we got away with it.”
LA knows that it was far from at its best on Sunday, but the performance was enough on this occasion to grab a result against a talented and unbeaten opponent.
Some might argue that the Red Bulls deserved the victory because of how they dictated things from the run of play, but the Galaxy’s defense and gameplan proved plenty effective in limiting the opposition.
“This year we’ve been in a few matches where we walked off the field without a point and today we deserved to get a point out of the game,” said Arena. “It’s not a perfect result by any means, but a well-earned point on the road.”
Admittedly this comment is from far outside, correct me if I am way off base, but- what I’ve seen, this iteration of RB looks a better team than last year and dare I say… much better coached. After a winter break and a LOT of understandable anguish regarding the Petke firing, heaps of anger, doubt and at times, abuse thrown at the organization and Marsch it seems uncannily quiet on the supporters end. Yes, a long way to go, much to be proven, but at the very least the new manager deserves some props for doing a helluva job getting this group to gel under difficult circumstances. Maybe even a “sorry, perhaps we were wrong about you.” This group appears a few players away from being a legitimate contender.
thanks Franco, nice write up
managed to watch it yesterday… overall, I’d call the game style ‘american hectic’, with lots of turnovers and missed connections, but also constant attacking intent and occasional moments of teamwork or quality–the Galaxy goal was top notch, and the Red Bulls did look dangerous late in the match.
Zardes for the Galaxy played in midfield and was very good, showing superior quality with a high work rate. If he continues to play like that he gets a starting USMNT spot on the left side of the diamond, and the Galaxy will have a great midfield after Gerrard arrives.
The Jamieson kid who scored looks very promising as well, he’s really fast and his move to score was cutting.
I get a bit amused by people who say that a team controlled the game. Looked to me like the game played out exactly the way the Galaxy planned it. 4000 mile trip across 3 time zones without Robbie Keane against a team that high presses and relies on creating quick opportunities. Score and early goal. Allow 2 legitimate chances and a handful of set pieces. NJRB team gets a goal on a lucky bounce. Good day at the office.
I’m puzzled that Red Bull are not disappointed in their chance creation. Seems like they are happier than they should be about a lucky draw at home.
The result wasn’t lucky, although the goal was. On the balance of play RBNY deserved at least a draw, if not a win. You’re right that they probably should have created more chances given their dominance in possession but I think your spin on the game is a bit too friendly to the Galaxy. If you’re happy with a draw though, you got one.
It is a long season and managing games is an important part of that. Getting a road point in Red Bull Arena is a good result for any team even it wasn’t pretty. Remember the Red Bulls were very close to being in the MLS Cup last year and yes they lost Henry but they are certainly looking like a top team again. Look at Chelsea right now… you don’t need to win every game.
The Red Bulls are very clearly more of a team this year. You can see that the team mentality being touted by the players is more than just lip service. I have to believe there is some sense of relief knowing that Thierry isn’t going to be barking at you if you don’t put the ball exactly where he wants it. However, it has to be said that despite all of the possession, they are missing a difference maker like Mr. Henry. There is just something missing in the final 18-25 yards
Wow! I did not see the game, but the reigning MLS Champions managed a draw against the RedBull who lost Henri and Cahill from last season’s squad and it is being reported as if it is a great result for LA. And LA did not look convincing in the process claiming only to having played good defense while hoofing long balls to Alan Gordon. If that is success, LA has set the bar pretty low!
You should have stopped typing after “game”… It would have saved you the embarrassment…
Well no, the Galaxy were without (from last season) Landon Donovan, Marcello Sarvas and from this season, last year’s MVP, Robbie Keane, so LA were even more “handicapped” than the NYRB. In fact, with Keane, not playing and Steven Gerrard, yet to join the team, LA were down to Omar Gonzalez as the lone DP. The Galaxy did not set the bar low, the put their respect for the NYRB, high, and formulated a good strategy to deal with the NYRB strong midfield and their high pressure on LA’s back line. For large portions of the game, Alan Gordon served as the lone center forward, with JB-IV and Zardes acting as withdrawn forwards/midfielders. This had the effect of putting up 5 midfielders and had the Galaxy using a “route 1” offensive strategy. It’s not the way the LA Galaxy like to play, but it was effective enough to get a draw, on the road against a good team.