The LA Galaxy’s history as a club – and Major League Soccer’s history as a league, by extension – pivoted on the arrival of David Beckham back in 2007. The signing of European soccer’s most marketable name set the Carson franchise on course to becoming the predominant force it is now. Of course, the capture of Steven Gerrard cannot be heralded with the same weight – and the Galaxy have kept their colour-scheme this time around – but the club has spent much of the 2015 season passively waiting around for their new headline act to pitch up.
It’s not so long since the Galaxy found themselves on a five-game winless streak, a slump capped by the 4-0 road defeat to Orlando City on 17 May. With that loss in central Florida, LA were staggering into the summer months, when Gerrard would join and carry the expectation of reviving an ailing campaign. But with the former Liverpool captain finally now in California and set to make his Galaxy debut next week, the defending MLS Cup champions are in decidedly better shape than anticipated.
Since their Disney derby nadir, Arena’s side have lost just two from nine games, winning five and drawing two. There was the Cali Clasico defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes last week, but besides that Galaxy’s June form – which regained momentum with Saturday’s 4-0 demolition of Toronto FC – has underlined their candidacy as Western challengers. Three wins in their last four games have taken the Galaxy to within a point of conference leaders, the Seattle Sounders.
Of course, to have written the LA Galaxy off on the basis of their pre-summer form would have been foolish, particularly given the precedent Bruce Arena’s side set for themselves in 2012, when they recovered from a tepid start to eventually sweep back-to-back MLS Cups in their own stadium. The emphatic win over TFC – as well as similarly impressive victories over Philadelphia and Portland – suggest they are following that plot-line once again. Gerrard joins up with a team that was in decidedly poorer shape just a few weeks ago.
Robbie Keane netted a hat-trick in Saturday’s win at StubHub Center, and the Irishman offers an example of how to succeed in MLS, if Gerrard is looking for one. There are hushed concerns over the former England international’s true commitment to the LA Galaxy cause, with the 35-year-old admitting his wish for a more relaxed lifestyle in California, coupling his MLS duties with a new TV punditry role back in England. Rafa Marquez and Jermain Defoe will attest that without complete dedication MLS can be an unforgiving place.
And so Gerrard must look to Keane for the yardstick with which to judge success by. The Liverpool legend must have been impressed with what he saw on his first visit to Carson - but somewhat apprehensive too. Gerrard might be the man on the billboards right now, but Keane served a reminder Saturday night that he is still the Galaxy’s defining DP.
Despite defeat, the Red Bulls must reflect on an impressive run
The 4-2 defeat to the Houston Dynamo earlier this month may prove, when the time comes to reflect and react, to be something of a watershed moment for the New York Red Bulls. Jesse Marsch lamented it as a “terrible result,’ with the Harrison side slumping badly – dropping three out of five games after going unbeaten between March and April. At that point, six games in just 18 days looked a hefty sentence, yet the Red Bulls have revived their campaign in that time.
There might have been no Independence Day fireworks for Marsch’s men – suffering a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Columbus Crew – but they must look back on four wins from their last six games, two derby victories and progression to the quarter-finals of the US Open Cup with positivity. New York City FC’s recent run of results means that the play-off pressure is still on the Red Bulls – with just three points separating the two rival sides in fifth and seventh place respectively – but at least Marsch’s side are still in the post-season picture. For a while, after four successive defeats, it looked like they might fall out of it altogether.
As is the norm in such circumstance, Marsch rotated his side to combat such a crowded schedule over the past few weeks (although he stuck with a familiar team in Columbus). By doing so, he has inadvertently given his side a more youthful complexion, illustrated by their lineup against the Crew. Eight out of 10 starting outfield players for Red Bulls were under the age of 30, with the side also including two teenagers, three homegrown players and four New York/New Jersey natives. Even in defeat, there was something of a silver-lined consolation and an indication of the team’s direction under Marsch in that.
Another positive came in the form of Anatole Abang’s performance. The Cameroonian has been used as a substitute option for much of the year, but has impressed when given the opportunity as the central forward - pushing Bradley Wright-Phillips into a wider position in recent outings. Luis Robles will also regard his own individual display favourably, making a number of saves to keep his side in the contest. The Red Bulls would have suffered a much heavier lost were it not for their Arizona-born goalkeeper.
The continuation of the club’s Fourth of July curse – a winless streak that stretches all the way back to 2001 – was rather more grating for the Red Bulls, though. What is even more remarkable is that the Harrison franchise in its current form has never played an Independence Day fixture at home - in nine years of MLS play. While that might be a galling quirk of fortune, the Red Bulls can still reflect on how the tone of their summer campaign has changed.
NYC FC celebrate the summer of Villa
Great players can often be measured by the number of fans forming the queue for their autograph. Over 200 supporters – most of them of a Montreal Impact-persuasion – waited outside Stade Saputo for David Villa to scribble an acknowledgement on notepads, jerseys and babies’ heads after Saturday’s game - illustrating the extent to which the Spanish legend is revered not just by his own fans in MLS. Although having watched Villa single-handedly dismantle their team, it’s unsurprising that so many were compelled to go souvenir hunting.
The Impact actually played well against New York City FC, claiming the majority share of possession and firing off 25 shots on goal in comparison to the opposition’s mere five. Andres Romero, Ignacio Piatti and Marco Donadel all impressed, but Montreal fell simply because they couldn’t call on someone like Villa. NYC FC might not have deserved victory, but claimed it anyway with a double from the former Barcelona forward.
Jason Kreis’ side have now won four of their last five MLS games, with Villa scoring five times over the course of that streak. But this result was arguably the most significant of NYC FC’s summer resurgence. The derby defeat to the New York Red Bulls was particularly painful one, given that they had held the lead at half-time, but by winning in Montreal they have shown that result to be nothing more than a blip.
The turnaround in NYC FC’s season is remarkable. Not so long ago Kreis fielded questions on the possibility of his side finishing the campaign as one of MLS’s most futile expansion teams ever. With Villa initially struggling for goals, his team toiled in the final third – losing their first six games away from the Bronx. Now NYC FC are just three points short of the play-off spots in the East, with two successive victories on the road.
Victory at Stade Saputo was made all the more impressive given the tactical shift needed from Kreis to compensate for the loss of Mix Diskerud, who missed the game due to his involvement with the US national team. NYC FC subsequently lined up in something of an unorthodox 4-2-2-2 formation, although Villa – the match-winner in pretty much every way – eased any rigidity between the lines of midfield and attack.
Villa also proved the difference between the two sides when they first met back in June, with the Spaniard certainly living up to his Designated Player billing in his debut MLS season. A pretty hefty marker has been put down for Frank Lampard, who will finally make his bow next week almost a year after first signing for the franchise.
The Eastern and Western Conferences are tightening up, but for different reasons
It is a peculiar quirk of this season’s unfolding that while the West is generally regarded the stronger of MLS’s two divisions, it is an Eastern side - DC United - who lead the Supporters’ Shield pursuit with the play-offs only just coming into sight. However, in both conferences there is little to separate those jostling for post-season places.
The clash between the East’s top two proved a pivotal moment in the race for the Conference title, with DC United exiting what had become something of a slump to edge out the New England Revolution 2-1. Until then the contest between the two sides had been a close fought one, even if both had endured simultaneous dips. Now, however, the Revs have dropped to fourth with Ben Olsen’s men boasting an 11-point lead over the Columbus Crew at the summit of the standings. DC United, barring any dramatic turn in fortune, are the Eastern Conference-champions elect.
New England’s downturn, which has seen them win just one of their last 11 league fixtures, has given the East a competitive proximity – with just a single point separating five teams between second and sixth place. DC United might have the ribbons tied on the trophy, but the Chicago Fire would appear to be the only team in the division without a shot at a post-season run.
The Western Conference has also tightened up at the same time, although for completely different reasons. While the likes of the New York Red Bulls, the Columbus Crew and the rest have struggled for momentum, their Western counterparts have by and large found their groove. Take the Vancouver Whitecaps for instance, who have won four of their last six. Or the LA Galaxy, with three wins from four. The Portland Timbers have claimed victory in five of six, and Sporting KC too have won four from six.
Just one Eastern Conference side has won more than seven matches this season, while in the West no less than five teams can claim to have reached that number. The San Jose Earthquakes currently find themselves outside the Western play-off places with 25 points from 16 matches, and yet such a tally would see them hold second place in the East.
Sigi Schmid’s Seattle Sounders side once looked like running away with the conference title - much like DC United are in the East - but they have been drawn into a battle with Vancouver, the LA Galaxy and even FC Dallas. Ben Olsen’s side have benefited greatly from the dismal form of others, while the Sounders have suffered the opposite fate. The West, like most leagues, is a division sorted by who can win the most games, yet the East will be decided on who can lose the least.
Portland show their biggest improvement in win over San Jose
Cast your mind back to early May. Summer had yet to spark, the US national team were still plotting their Women’s World Cup revenge and the Portland Timbers had won just two of their opening nine MLS fixtures in 2015. Caleb Porters’ side by this point were surely accustomed to disappointment almost on a near weekly basis – given the comprehensive manner of some defeats – but one game in particular provided a microcosm of their struggles: a goalless home draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Against their Cascadia rivals, the Timbers totalled 13 shots on goal to the Whitecaps’ seven. Portland claimed 64% possession and generally controlled the contest at Providence Park, as Vancouver absorbed. But still, they could not find the breakthrough. Without Diego Valeri, who missed the opening months of the season through injury, Porter’s side simply had no invention or cutting edge. One goal in four matches illustrated the problems Portland were suffering in attack.
Things have turned around since then. The Timbers are now the league’s form team, having won six of their last seven fixtures, surging up the Western standings to within a point of leaders Seattle. There have been performances to savour over the course of that run, not least the 4-1 victory over Pacific Northwest adversaries, the Sounders, last week. But Sunday’s win over San Jose was a throwback to that draw against Vancouver, and an encapsulation of how Portland have changed since then.
Just like against the Whitecaps two months ago, the Timbers found themselves up against a side intent on sitting deep and absorbing pressure. The Earthquakes, too, succeeded in frustrating the home side. “We knew they are a very good back four, extremely disciplined, organised, physical, strong,” Porter explained afterwards. “I don’t necessarily like the way they played, but you’ve got to credit the players in the back.”
Portland have struggled on more than one occasion this season to break down teams that sit deep against them, and once again this proved to be the case Sunday night. The Timbers fired off 23 shots on goal compared to San Jose’s mere seven, claiming the majority share of possession and having two goals chalked off too. It wasn’t until stoppage time that Porter’s side finally found the winner.
Jack Jewsbury – or ‘Old Salt Dog’ as Porter calls him – forced home a penalty box scramble with an opportunistic stabbed finish at the far post, giving Portland the lead they had warranted all match. Of course, it’s not the first time that Jewsbury has netted a stoppage time winner, with the midfielder also snatching a 2-1 win for the Timbers at the Colorado Rapids on May 31. It’s those sort of wins – not the emphatic Cascadia Cup victories – that show how Portland have improved this summer.
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