The Portland Timbers are tied in the standings with the Galaxy, but, but but have 2 games in hand. They have won their last 4 MLS games. Very important that we win this game! Here's to great defense and a couple of solid goals. # Club PTS GP PPG W L T GF GA GD 1 Seattle Sounders FC 29 16 1.81 9 5 2 23 13 10 2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 29 17 1.71 9 6 2 20 16 4 3 Portland Timbers 25 16 1.56 7 5 4 17 14 3 4 LA Galaxy 25 18 1.39 6 5 7 21 20 1 Boy, we have a lot of ties.
Yeah, I mentioned this a few weeks ago that we needed some teams in the west to start losing. The good news is that the standings are tight and we have several games against the west remaining. So not panic, but we can't let up on the gas and here's to hoping other teams help us out.
I think we will be fine for playoffs, MLS teams never dominate this league so most will slip up a lot. We usually get those games out of the way early in the season so I'm positive. Timbers are on pretty good form so if we can beat them then we are looking great!
Yeah, just hoping the other teams help us out. Especially since we've played more games than all of them.
I don't get that "rivalry week" starts Wednesday. Is Portland a rival? I don't think so. I get the smurfs on Saturday, but Portland? There are other teams that are more of a rival than them (SEA, SLC, DC, NJ).
I think it’s like one of those “when you turn 20 you’re in your 21st year things”. Only one of the games on Wednesday has a semblance of rivalry: TORvMTL and maybe DCvCHI, the other 4 matches aren’t even close. There are about half the weekend games though that are rivalries (or at least the league desperately wants them to be). Seems weird though - there are some clear rivalry games that could easily be created by swapping fixtures. swapping one team in these two match ups CLB v RSL and SKC v COL is a no brainer. Swapping one team PHI v MTL and TOR v DC wouldn’t be quite as neat & tidy, but better than the current slate. Meh it’s MLS who knows what that one dude is thinking.
This is going to be a great game. Just saw the points per game standings and the remaining points available. We really need to get 4 points from these next 2 games to put me at ease of making the playoffs. Some of you are a little too confident lol.
We do indeed have several games vs the West coming up. And speaking of some weird scheduling - 4 of our 10 non-friendly games through the end of August are against one team: San Jose. Open Cup and 3 regular season matches. Three of these are on the road where we haven't won this season. Also we will be missing Zardes and Omar for all except the last one. But SJ will be missing Wondo so I guess that balances out, probably in our favor since SJ has difficulty scoring. We will just have to learn how to win on the road I guess.
I'll be there. Haven't missed a match since mid seasonish last year. I just got some horrible news, though. I'm gonna be godfather to my nephew. The baptism is on Aug. 23rd. At least I hope the lure of nycfc can get me some paper to cry into on the resale market...?
Sheesh, between being gone and now being swamped with work, I haven't been able to be in the forum for the last couple of weeks nor watch the Galaxy much. But yay for ESPN2 tonight. Can't wait. Go Galaxy!!
In the 12th minute of the Galaxy’s match on Saturday against Philadelphia, Maurice Edu had a free header off a corner kick that he almost -- and probably should have -- scored on. Here is a link to video of the play: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/ma...axy-vs-philadelphia-union/details/video/41698 If Edu would have scored on the play, it may have altered the complexion of the match. Philadelphia would have had a 1-0 lead on the road, and they could have played defensively from then on in their 4-2-3-1 formation and tried to hold on for a win or a draw. And the Galaxy might have gotten frustrated, which could have hurt their play. Ironically, it was Omar Gonzales, the best defensive header in MLS, who was marking Edu on the play. Gonzales lost his concentration and let Edu get free. Against Portland tonight, it is important for the Galaxy to try not to concede set pieces easily. And when they do concede them, the Galaxy should play sound, focused defense. Portland is good at attacking set pieces. Their runners tend to play aggressively in the box and really attack the ball. I don’t know whether Fenando Adi or Maxi Urruti will start at forward for Portland tonight. But both are good in the air. Adi is 6’ 4”, 185 lbs., has good timing and good jumping ability. Urruti is 6’ 0”, slippery and knows how to find space to be dangerous. Portland also brings up their two center-backs on attacking set pieces. Their two starting center-backs tonight will be two of Liam Ridgewell and either Norberto Paparatto or Nat Borchers. All three are at least 6’ 2” and good in the air. On a different note, here is the line-up I’d like to see the Galaxy start tonight: -------------------------------------Penedo------------------------------------ Gargan----------------Gonzales-------------DeLaGarza------------Rogers ---------------------------Juninho -----------Lleget-------------------------- Ishizaki-----------------------------------------------------------------Husidic ------------------------------Zardes-----------Keane--------------------------- 1. Center-Back Leonardo hasn’t played since June 13, 11 days ago. And A.J. DeLaGarza played 90 minutes four nights ago. So, Leonardo most likely will be fresher than DeLaGarza tonight. But, by a narrow margin, I would start DeLaGarza. The Galaxy’s winning-percentage in regular season games is very high when Gonzales and DeLaGarza have started together at center-back. And they work very well together. DeLaGarza also has been less mistake-prone in MLS than Leonardo. 2. Central Midfield Mika Vayrynen left Saturday night’s game with some sort of injury. If Vayrynen is not 100 percent, I would start Sebastian Lleget in central midfield, next to Juninho. Lleget has played very well in the last three games. However, if Vayrynen is 100 percent, it would be a hard call for me as to whether to start him or Lleget. Vayrynen has much more experience with the Galaxy than Lleget. The latter has played only 243 total minutes for the Galaxy and in MLS. In comparison, Vayrynen has played 770 minutes for the Galaxy and in MLS. Also, Vayrynen played pretty well against Columbus and decently against Philadelphia. In addition, Bruce Arena could start Vayrynen tonight and plan to bring Lleget into the match in the second half. So, Lleget’s not starting doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t play significant minutes. And it’s not clear how good Lleget would be over 90 minutes, since he has played 90 minutes only against PSA Elite (though he did play 84 minutes against Columbus). However, even if Vayrynen is 100 percent, I would start Lleget tonight. Lleget has been impressive over the last three games. Over that stretch, he has scored a goal in each game and been good at helping the team keep possession. He also has been creative and dangerous in the final third.
Given that Leonardo wasn't even on the bench against PSA Elite (where Gargan came on at halftime for Omar to play center back) or against the Union, I suspect that he has an injury. Could be minor and a week off is all that he needed, but if it was just simple squad rotation you would have expected him to be at least in the 18 one of those games just in case.
According to this, Leo has a hip-flexor injury: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2015-06-20-la-galaxy-vs-philadelphia-union/recap
I really love following the game live with you guys. But this will be my first live game of the season. Haven't been to a game since our 1 - 0 home win against Sounders during playoffs. We're looking good. We've built some confidence in our last two games and I hope we keep it going. Portland isn't as weak as our last two opponents, but I predict a 2 - 0 win tonight.
The Galaxy has a better shot at winning at home than on the road so I would want AJ in the middle instead of Leo. Lets get the points. Leo can provide adequate cover this weekend and hopefully the team can get a result.
Getting ready to head down to the match now. I want to see Zardes and Keane light it up tonight! LAG need to win these next couple of home matches to stay in the race, because July might be a bit rough with Omar and Zardes at the Gold Cup, not to mention integrating Gerrard as a new piece.