CARSON, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Galaxy snapped their 12-game winless streak in emphatic fashion Saturday, beating D.C. United 5-2 in front of a sellout crowd at The Home Depot Center. Landon Donovan netted a hat trick, including a pair of goals in the first half, to carry the Galaxy to the win.
The game didn't start that great for Los Angeles though. Just more than a minute into the contest, D.C. United scored off a corner kick, and things looked bleak. Then, just after the quarter hour, Josh Wicks was forced to make a great save on Luciano Emilio to keep things close. It definitely wasn't the start the home side was looking for.
"I was ready to walk out of the stadium when they scored off the corner kick, to be honest with you," said Pete Vagenas, who added a late goal of his own. "I think Wicks made the save of the day on Emilio, on his breakaway. Had they gone up 2-0, it would have been extremely difficult to get back into the game."
That save allowed Donovan to take over the game, scoring the equalizer, then the go-ahead goal. The Galaxy would never relinquish the lead from that point on, and created a number of other scoring chances.
"I was disappointed in the way we started the game, but I was very pleased with the way we reacted," said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena. "We took a pretty impressive lead into halftime. We had a chance to take a three-goal lead. I think the effort tonight wasn't perfect, but we played as a team."
While the entire team played with more energy than seen out of the Galaxy in quite some time, it was Donovan who was the engine. In addition to his three goals, Donovan also picked up an assist, and generally terrorized the D.C. defense all night long.
"I thought (his performance) was exceptional. But I've seen that a few times from Landon," said David Beckham following the game. "When he plays like that, no one can stop him. He's a goal scorer. He's a great finisher of the ball and we needed that."
Donovan's success came in large part because he was dropped into the midfield, rather than playing as a true striker. The move allowed Donovan more space between the backline and the midfield, and he exploited that space, torching the United defense on numerous runs that began deep in the midfield.
"In watching them play, Bruce realized that they play with two center backs in (Marc) Burch who's not a true centerback and (Bryan) Namoff who's not a true center back either. The way they play in the midfield, they don't play with two side by side guys," said Donovan. "No disrespect to Clyde (Simms), but given the chance I knew I was going to win that matchup."
Donovan's first goal was a perfect example of that. He began his run in the center circle and ran right past the midfield, receiving a pass between the two center backs, before tucking home a shot past Louis Crayton. From that point on, he was running in behind the defense all night long.
His running off the ball opened up the field, and allowed more space for teammates, and the scoreline reflected that.
The scoreline also put the Galaxy within two points of playoff position and also released a ton of pressure that had been building up on a club that had been desperate for a win.
"It was an important win just to get us going again more than anything. To go so many games without a win, I've never done that before, and I'm sure a lot of those players have never done that before," said Beckham. "For confidence more than anything, it was important we started well, which we didn't tonight. But we got ourselves back into it and stayed together to win the game. We needed the three points."
Life gets more difficult for LA as they try to climb their way back into the playoffs. Up next is a road trip to Chicago; last season, the Fire ended the Galaxy's playoff run on the last day of the season. Next Thursday's match won't mathematically eliminate the Galaxy from the playoff picture, but there is no room to sit back and enjoy the win against D.C.
"You get to the point where you don't even look at other scores or standings because it's just depressing. It's nice to finally move a little, but we're still a long ways away and we realize that," said Donovan.
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