Semi-Final matchup I must say I am happy to get the matchup with Colorado rather than a scary Dallas club. We must keep the pressure on the Rapids offensively to make sure Chung and Henderson on the wings have to defend A LOT! Those guys getting into the attack could kill us. Spencer getting back up to speed concerns me a bit, but I think the middle of our defense will hold up. Chris Albright and McKinley Tennyson must see time because of their speed. I'm tired of the slow Sasha Victorine bogging down the offense. Do we even see Mauricio again? As usual with these first-to-fives, game one is crucial. Galaxy should win, probably in two games.
Yeah - why did Cien leave the field in the middle of the second half? Sick? Sulking? He wasn't out joining the post-game celebration either. BTW: Jeff Bradley is now selecting Dallas to win MLS Cup 2003.
Here is what I saw at the Cotton Bowl last night. Don't give Chung or Henderson room to work. If we play those two like we did last Saturday night against KC, Hartman is going to be pulling alot of balls out of the net. They work alot on spreading the defense and slip Carrieri and Spencer into open spaces. I don't think that Spencer is fit yet. I sat right behind the Colorado bench. When he came off, he was sucking wind badly. He didn't look as dangerous as he has in the past. Carrieri is opportunistic and can burn you when you least expect it. He seems to have a good sense of getting lost from his defenders. I'm not sure that is as big a problem for us as in the past because it seems we man-mark pretty well this season. None the less, the guy is dangerous. Defensively, s**t, they have Robin!! He was a stud last night. I think the guy has eyes in the back of his head. He made a bunch of great plays on high balls coming into the box. Why did Sigi let the guy go!!! This could be the key match-up of the semis. Ruiz is going to have to work some magic to slip anything by Frazer. I see a must win on Saturday night before it moves back to Denver.
I'm concerned about Colorado not only because of Chung and Henderson but Carreri and Spencer as well. Given the opportunities, they'll burn us. We cannot make the same mistake like we did with KC in Game 2. We gotta contain these guys, control the midfield and most of all, score, but with Mastroeni and Fraser in the D, it might be a little difficult. I also would like to see the G's go 2-0, but for selfish reasons, I want it to go to Game 3 because it's going to be held at Titan Stadium, an awesome place for soccer (plus it's near me)!
I think one of the biggest questions for us is how to deal with Ruiz. Does Hanki put Titus back in after his disgrace in Dallas to man-mark Carlos and (pretty much) shut him down like he did during the season?, or do we stick with our most recent 4-Back formation? It will be an interesting tactical decision. Lalas also concerns me...he's been death to us in the wee hours of the game. I think it will be a 2 game series either way. Good Luck!!! (It's too bad we don't have Grimandi yet
what i wouldn't give for a fraser/lalas central defensive partnership... scary note... wasn't it henderson who scored the game winner for kansas in the 2000 semi finals. btw i'd much rather see victorine out there than albright. apart from his hilarious goal against KC, albright seems to still be missing that last step in his game. had some beautiful skill last saturday, but that final touch, pass, shot lets him down. victorine isn't much better, but he is better. don't get me wrong, i have a feeling that once albright figures that last step out, i think he could be lethal, just not sure we'll see him in a galaxy jersey when it happens. tennyson... was last night a fluke? taking advantage of a poor play from an already beaten team? or does he have the stuff to be the breakout star for us in the playoffs. while everyones wathching ruiz can tennyson take advantage like last night. it certainly would be nice to have a healthy glinton in there as an option. gut feeling, if the team got over their post-san jose slump and last night wasn't a fluke. if cobi plays 4 more games like last night. if tennyson or mullan or albright find their shooting boots. we will get by colorado and be lifting two cups this season. if anyone of those four things don't happen we could be the bridesmaid once again.
I am not bashing, but genuinely asking, what has Victorine done this season to make you want him out there more than Albright? Victorine refuses to take on defenders 1v1 because he knows he CAN'T. He's too slow and bogs down the offense thru the mid. Albright is not a scorer, we know. But he's not afraid to take on players with his speed and at least help create some room for Cobi and Carlos. Agree with you on wishing Glinton was healthy!
Some media to start the discussion. Tennyson Makes Most of Moment - LA Times Galaxy Possible Game 3 in Fullerton - AP Los Angeles aware of Colorado threat - PlanetFootball Galaxy riding Ruiz's goal run into semifinals - AP Upstart Rapids love chances against Galaxy - Denver Post
close to 25,000 in rose bowl... it was an pretty nice atmosphere with the korean sticks (ala the Angels in baseball)
4-0 G's. Thug Life, EZ and Ruiz with two. Kev stops a pk. Good win for the boys, 1 more on Wednesday and we're on to MLS Cup. Super sweet.
admitadely victorine was on the field all night last night, but you can't say he didn't contribute a hell of a lot more than albright. i saw him take on henderson(? don't know a blonde dude) down the left almost all of the 2nd half after LA left that open for the first 5-10 minutes. i don't know that it will always be the case. albright really hussles, but he's a bit too overenthusiastic on tackles and his final touch let's him down way to often. everything up to that point is pretty good. -- specififcally to the match. here's what i saw. a team that controlled play for 45 minutes and should have had two or three more. in the second half it seemed they either took their foot off the pedal, or had it taken off, but still controlled the match. i saw the "team" from last year that i thought had disappeared. overall i think LA will be a very difficult team to beat in these final 3 or 4 games.
AWESOME performance by the G-men!!! COMPLETE & TOTAL domination by the Galaxy!! If we play like that for TWO more games, NOBODY'S gonna stop us from, FINALLY, carrying the MLS Cup!! No doubt about it!! Ruiz, Cobi, Lalas, & Hartman were all FABULOUS, but this was in the truest sense of the word, a TEAM effort. WAY TO GO, GALAXY!!! Let's finish off the Crapids on Wednesday night in Colorado!!
As a side note i heard the sigi interview after the game and he mertioned that the Galaxy players have a board with the number 3 on it. They are definitely thinking treble. And so are we the fans 2-for MLS Cup and 1-for the USOC
Victorine does what Sigi tells him to do...Albright tries, but he is still trying to un-learn what (w)Rong-en taught him...
albright just plain sucks. there is no learning curve for this fool.... we should dump him as soon as possible
We want Tennyson back in '03! We don't mind loaning him to you but we need his services again in 2003. The A-League can be a lowly, lonely place and we need rising stars like Mckinley Tennyson to make it a happier place. He popped in 18 goals this past season and should score much more than that next year. His foot speed and ball skills are undeniable. He can run circles around Sasha.