LA - Matt Reis, Greg Vaney, Robin Fraser, Dan Califf, Jorge Salcedo (Ivan Polic '63), Ezra Hendrickson, Simon Elliott, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Sebastien Vorbe (Paul Caligiuri '80), Peter Vagenas (Cobi Jones '38), Sasha Victorine.
San Diego - Tom Tate, David Banks, Jason Annicchero, P.J. Brown, Geoff Huber (Guillermo Jara '65), Kevin Legg, Nate Hetherington, Leighton O'Brien (Brian O'Connor '72), Mauricio Alegre, Mike Slivinski (Anthony Farace '76), Mugurel Dumitru.
Goals:
Los Angeles, '50 - Sasha Victorine (A. Cobi Jones)
Los Angeles, '67 - Ivan Polic (Mauricio Cienfuegos)
The Flash took one on the collective chin tonight as the Los Angeles Galaxy came in and beat San Diego 2-0. The Galaxy looked every bit the Division One team against a San Diego team that looked every bit the team of Division Two. The Galaxy had the benefit of almost all those who participated in World Cup qualifying on Sunday, with the only exception being Luis Hernandez. While the Flash defense did all that could be expected of them, it was the Flash midfield that was overmatched for most of the night. The Galaxy were able to string together lots of passes amongst themselves without much of a challenge. And were it not for a couple of great saves by Flash goalie Tom Tate, and a lack of finishing by the Galaxy, the score could have been a lot worse.
Early on the signs were there that the Galaxy would control. Less than 30 seconds after the opening kickoff the Galaxy controlled the ball and midfielder Simon Elliott took a shot on goal that clanked loudly off the upper left corner of the metal post. For the next 15 minutes or so the Galaxy had almost exclusive control of the ball. But while the Galaxy controlled the game, the Flash defense came up strong time and time again. Defenders Jason Annicchero and P.J. Brown were able to use their height and their reach to get in the way of key Galaxy passes that appeared to be heading for goal. Ezra Hendrickson had at least two chances that were thwarted by the Flash defense. So despite all the dominance, the teams ended the first half tied at 0-0.
The second half started off much the same way the first half ended. At about minute 50 the Galaxy won a corner kick, and Cobi Jones placed it right on the head of Sasha Victorine who put it in the back of the net. But right after that goal, the Flash started to show some life. They got the ball forward to Mugurel Dumitru, who had an unbelievable shot on goal from about 15 yards directly in front the goal. But Galaxy keeper Matt Reis made an even more unbelievable save of the sure goal. The time of the sound of the ball coming off Mugurel's foot and then hitting Matt's hand was less than a second. It was the best chance the Flash had on goal all night. Then only a minute later the Flash had another great chance on goal sparked by Flash midfielder Nate Hetherington. The ball bounced around in the six yard box until Robin Fraser was able to boot it out.
It felt like the Flash might be able to get the tying goal. The Flash showed some life and desire. Then the Flash subbed out defender Geoff Huber for forward and former Galaxy player Guillermo Jara. The Flash looked committed to going forward. But just after that substitution the Galaxy scored their second goal. Ivan Polic was able to get in the open field and ran straight at Flash goalie Tom Tate. Ivan took the shot which went high, but Tommy got his fingertips on it. This actually caused the ball to backspin, and when it came down the ball rolled into the goal behind Tommy. And the air was taken out of the Flash's comeback balloon.
From then on it looked like the Galaxy was just playing keepaway, with several passes back to the keeper which brought the derision of myself and several other fans. Things seemed to be winding down and the Galaxy was going to walk out of San Diego unscathed, when for some unknown reason goalscorer Ivan Polic decided to step on the ankle of a Flash player who was on the ground. The ref saw it and gave him a direct red card. That sure seemed like a dumb thing to do, especially when the game was practically over.
A record crowd of over 6,000 was on hand for the game, with little to no promotion in advance. However, many of the local media were here tonight, many who normally aren't. At least they were able to see the debut of the new Flash red uniform. They look like a copy of Manchester United, with Delta Air as the title sponsor rather than Sharp. But it's too bad the big crowd had to witness such a one-sided game. Not at all like last year's thriller that came down to the wire. I was indirectly a part of last year's game when I goaded then-Galaxy midfielder Clint Mathis into scoring the winning goal. This year, those who knew of my efforts last year asked who I was going to go after tonight. I replied that I was going to keep my mouth shut!
The Galaxy now go on to face the San Jose Earthquakes in the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup. I can now resume my loyalty to the Galaxy, and I hope they can go on and win it all! And now the Flash can concentrate on the A-League title, which is something that is on everyone's mind here in San Diego. We all want to face Minnesota again and beat them, and then go on to win it all!
-Eric Bekins-
