P/I/P #13 LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo Sat. 5/26 11:30 a.m.

I'm past wanting to punch people. I'm even past wanting to cry. I just want to understand: how do professional soccer players not know the basics of marking? How?!

A little tidbit here...the last time we won a game...I was the one that started the P/I/P. If you guys want me to help you out, let me know. (I can't trust tsaldana cause he's invisible...) Otherwise, que sera, sera.

Parking near the stadium is $30, pretty pricey for Houston. The team sold season passes to the Astros 2 parking lots for $20/ game and sold those out. There are $10 and $5 lots within walking distance but Comic-Con was going on just a couple of blocks away drawing 10,000. Probably most lots jacked up their prices for the day. There is a metro rail line going in with a station next to the stadium that will provide another option for fans, but it won't be running till next year.

I think most of the sell out crowd was in attendance, but really Houstonians aren't used to the heat either; we live in air conditioning. I think a lot of people found shade in the concourses and party areas.

There were a lot of Galaxy fans there. We saw a lot walking to the stadium in big groups and they were scattered around the stadium. Not sure if many of them travelled or live here. There was a big group of them, with some kids, that kept walking on the field, behind the sign boards and escorted by Dynamo officials. They kept walking in front of the Dynamo SGs going into the tunnels or something. No idea what that was about, but I sort of felt sorry for them, setting them up for SG abuse several times.

Highlight Time Folks

Boy we could've used Landon today...

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
Thoughts on the match

“We weren’t stepping up the field too much. We were trying to conserve our energy. We knew they would be a dangerous team on set pieces.”

Thoughts on the goals

“Today, the two goals were a result of a set piece. It happened the other night against San Jose. Given the circumstances of the heat and travel and the two games in a short period of time, our guys gave a good effort. It was a little demanding on them and certainly the heat was a factor. It was a slow game and a sloppy game and it’s difficult to play under these conditions.”

Thoughts on the heat

“The pace of the game changed because of the conditions. The players are not able to play at a high pace under these conditions for a long time. No one is made to play in this heat for 90 minutes.”

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER MIKE MAGEE
Thoughts on the match

“It’s definitely not easy but we had a good effort tonight. They kept their heads in it and we made a few mistakes that cost us the game.”

Thoughts on it being a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup

“This is a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup so I’m sure that weighed heavily on their minds. They obviously played like they had a chip on their shoulder.”

Thoughts on missing Landon Donovan

“We are not worried about missing guys. In the past we have had a lot of success in games when we have missed players. We need to get in that mindset that no matter who steps on the field, they will step up and do their role.”

LA GALAXY DEFENDER AJ DELAGARZA
Thoughts on the match

“I think they only had two real chances and they scored off set pieces. We did a nice job on their dangerous crosses.”

Thoughts on the past few matches

“When you look at the own goal, balls are just dropping against us. We are doing things right but just not getting results.”

Those lots are not usually $30. The most they have been previously were $20. Pricing went up probably because the people that own the lots are realizing that people will pay anything to park close and because of a certain player in town. I parked for free under 59. Reasonable parking can be found.

US-Scotland

Donovan had 3 goals and an assist tonight as the US men beat Scotland 5-1.

No surprise, this one. They are set-piece "hefty hefty" and we are set piece "wimpy wimpy." Sadly I'm only surprised they didn't score more.
Our only hope was to score 3 or more goals and it didn't happen.

Hey a fellow soccer fan from Katy! This was my first Dynamo game. Family just moved from LA to Katy and I wanted to go see the Galaxy play. The parking did seem unreasonably high. I drove around for a while trying to find cheaper parking but kept getting harassed by Houston fans at every light so I finally gave in and paid $30 to park.

The sunny side of the stadium for a day game is ridiculously hot, people were packed in the concourse to get out of the sun. Our seats are behind the bench and that entire side of the stadium was packed. Day games between May and August should simply not be attempted.

Hazards of a downtown stadium I suppose, but there's lots of somewhat reasonable parking if you just go a few blocks the right direction (my usual $10 lot cost $15 this week). If you go to another game shoot me a PM and I'll direct you to a much cheaper spot.

As per complaints about the refereeing, we Dynamo supporters had some too (particularly on Bruin's takedown). Just wasn't a well officiated match.

I'm sorry, this is crap. Houston dominated the game. The Galaxy couldn't even find the ball in the second half. It was a thoroughly embarrassing performance, and Bruce and these players should be ********inf ashamed of themselves.

I made sure I was sitting in the shade for the game. It was a hot humid day and I couldn't imagine sitting the whole game in the sun.

The ref was terrible. Wish there was a better ref for this match considering it was a rematch of the final. I thought Gaul should have gotten a red. Not on the initial tackle though. Gaul slide and I think it was Bruin who pretty much ran into his leg. It would have been a red if Gaul got Bruin instead of Bruin running into Gaul, but later on into the match, Gaul should have gotten his 2nd yellow.

Thanks for the heads up. If the Galaxy are ever back in town I'll definitely ask. Tickets were expensive and they weren't even amazing seats, then when I got there and saw $30+ parking everywhere, I got pissed. Didn't help when Dynamo fans would surround my car and tell me how bad the galaxy were.

Go for it. We need the GDT up. Don't know what happened to tsaldana. He disappears a lot. Just give us fans a day to let the result sink in. I wanna discuss the result regardless if it's a win or lose before I am discussing the next game.

Bingo.

Exhausting. That's what this team is right now.

I think Bruce picks his starting lineups and subs with darts. Kenny Walker???????????? Stephens????????????

Did Sarvas run over Bruce's dog? Why on earth did we pick him up if Walker and Stephens are getting games ahead of him?

I wanted Gaul, I will admit to it. He was overwhelmed.
Our flanks were a horror show. Both of them. We got beat repeatedly out here.

The only positive was that I'm glad Edson got his first goal.

Never been so glad for an international break.

Garbage play = garbage excuses = were ok there's something wrong with everybody else.

(hit the panic button)

When will posters learn to NEVER PUT RESULTS OF OTHER GAMES IN THREADS!!! THAT IS A BASIC FORUM ETIQUETTE. I taped the US game and haven't watched it yet. Thanks loads for ruining it for me lplaksina.

Another note from the game. Buddle was playing pretty well during the game before he scored and looked so happy when he finally scored. He looked like he was gaining some confidence from it. Then he committed a turnover in midfield. Then the sideline announcer mentioned that Bruce was screaming at Buddle for not holding the ball up better. It may be my imagination but it seemed like right after that Buddle started hanging his head as he is wont to do at times, his confidence looked like it went down, and his play from there on out suffered. Again it might be a coincidence but that is the way it looked to me.

I remember that when Gullit came he really, really liked Buddle from the get-go and we saw Buddle play great for him. Makes me wonder if Buddle isn't the type of player who needs encouragement rather than getting yelled at. Players are different in this regard - some need a fire lit under them (Landon for example), others just need their confidence built up. If so, Bruce you need to build Buddle up, not tear him down. (And Bruce I know you are reading this b/c you are always looking for new ideas. )

It's funny cause when the announcers mentioned this (to be fair, I don't think the word "screaming" was used, it was right after a bad giveaway by Beckham in midfield that resulted in a scoring chance for Houston. I was thinking Dunseth was going to say that Bruce was speaking to him about better controlling the midfield.

I thought the PIP post-starter had no influence on the result.

As you know, I have no problem if you, or any other poster, start the PIP. I thought you did a great job. But if I were you I'd sit it out and avoid the inevitable harassment. I know that doesn't scare you, but it is a disruption to the forum.

I just wanted to point that out to everyone as a personal courtesy message. Skevinrules gave me the green light, so standby.

I say go for it Hachiko. I'm not superstitious, but these are such desperate times that any straw looks worth grasping for to me. So if you say the last time you started the last thread we won then that's good enough for me.

Go, Go, Go!