November 8, 2009
“WE’RE NOT SATISFIED”
Donovan, Galaxy set sights on another MLS Cup
By Scott French

CARSON – After all the galling mistakes that defined the first playoff meeting between “SuperClasico” rivals Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy, it was perhaps fitting that the first-round series was decided on another error.

Miscues were few Sunday night, as the cross-stadium rivals shored up their defenses following last week’s debacle, but the Galaxy made the most of Yamith Cuesta’s, riding Landon Donovan’s 73rd-minute penalty kick to a 1-0 triumph in front of 27,000 at Home Depot Center and into next week’s Western Division title game with a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Donovan converted the spot kick after Cuesta, Chivas’ 20-year-old Colombian center back, spilled Mike Magee, and L.A. claimed its first playoff win since capturing the 2005 MLS Cup crown. A victory Friday night over Houston at HDC would send the Galaxy to the Nov. 22 MLS Cup final in Seattle against Chicago or Real Salt Lake.

Donovan called the victory “historic,” and the Galaxy seemed overjoyed to knock out its archrival, which dropped a first-round series for the fourth successive season. Midfielder Dema Kovalenko, whose gritty work in midfield was crucial for L.A., celebrated the final whistle with a pelvic thrust that enraged Chivas head coach Preki and goalkeeper coach Leo Percovich.

“There may never be another opportunity to play them in the playoffs, and you have to think about the historic value of it,” Donovan said afterward in a packed locker room, where well-wishers included injured U.S. national team defender Oguchi Onyewu. “It’s similar to when we beat Mexico in the World Cup. That might never happen again. So you want to take advantage of these opportunities.”

L.A.’s turnaround since former U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena took charge in August 2008 has been remarkable. Sixteen of the 26 players on the Galaxy roster arrived after last season – “We got a fresh coat of paint,” Arena said – and the newcomers included a half-dozen (goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, defenders Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez and Todd Dunivant, and midfielders Kovalenko and Mike Magee) starters Sunday night.

“It’s huge for our franchise. I think you can sense it,” said Donovan, one of the few pluses during L.A.’s three years without a playoff berth. “But we’re not satisfied. This isn’t good enough for us.

“And now we have a big opportunity to do something special.”

The Galaxy were the better team in a tight, intense battle in which chances were at a premium. Arena’s decision to swap spots between Donovan and Magee – pairing Donovan up front with Edson Buddle and moving Magee into a supporting role on the left flank – paid huge dividends.

Donovan was all over the field, winning balls (or aiding teammates’ battles) in midfield and spearheading an attack that deserved better from its intelligent buildup and quick counterattack.

“It was obvious from the start this was going to be a tight contest, and it was probably going to be a 1-0 type of game,” Arena said. “We had a few chances. There weren’t a whole lot of chances tonight. I think our passing could have been cleaner in the final third. (We could have) hit a couple better crosses. But for the most part, defensively we were pretty good.”

So was Chivas, which brought on Shavar Thomas – making just his fourth start since June – to partner Cuesta in central defense, pushing Jonathan Bornstein to the left flank, his customary position before the regular-season stretch run. Both teams avoided the kind of miscues that led directly to three goals, two by the Galaxy, in last week’s first leg, a 2-2 draw. But the Goats, despite Sacha Kljestan’s best efforts, lacked the dynamism they showed after Maykel Galindo came on at halftime in the first leg.

Galindo, slowed by a calf strain, told Preki on Saturday that he would be unable to start and that 90 minutes was well beyond him. The Cuban forward, Chivas’ most dangerous attacker, came on in the 60th minute Sunday but made little impact. Telling was his first chance, a ball through the goalmouth by Maicon Santos that he was unable to reach.

Chivas had other chances:

- A Maicon Santos header, after a poor Gonzalez clearance, that sailed wide of the post in the 16th minute;

- A bending Justin Braun shot that Ricketts dived to push around his right post in the 32nd;

- A Kljestan rocket off target for the upper-right corner in the 38th;

- A Paulo Nagamura shot off a poor clearance that went wide of the left post.

“The Galaxy made the play, and they won the game,” Preki said. “We had plenty of opportunity to be on top, and around the box we were pretty poor. A lot of moments where we had two against the goalkeeper or two against one, we don’t even take a shot … The guys came in, they work hard. No question about that. They were just lacking that little bit of quality in front of the goal.”

The Goats limited the Galaxy’s chances, and the best – a Beckham smash that flew just high in the 34th minute; a chip-up-and-volley from Chris Klein, after Donovan’s cross-field pass, that Zach Thornton pushed over his crossbar a minute later; a Magee volley through the goalmouth in the 59th; and shots from Klein in the 67th and Kovalenko in the 69th that forced Thornton to go down to make saves – weren’t good enough.

But the game changed in the 70th, when Donovan ran onto Beckham’s 50-yard pass, drew Thornton off his line, then fed Magee on the right side of the box. Magee took the ball toward the right post, and Cuesta clattered into him, wrapping his leg around Magee’s and nailing the Galaxy winger in a particularly sensitive area.

The ball sat there, net before it, as Magee fell as if clobbered with a knockout punch, and referee Ricardo Salazar pointed to the spot as Thornton raced in to grab the ball.

“The guy hit me where no man wants to get hit,” Magee said. “It took me a little bit to go down. … I couldn’t even think to kick a ball at that point. There was nothing else I could have thought of at that moment.”

Donovan converted, firing up the middle as Thornton dived to his left, and his 16th postseason goal pulled him even with former Galaxy teammate Carlos Ruiz for most in MLS playoff history.

One goal was enough.

“That’s how all these games have been in the past,” Donovan said. “We did a good job of putting them under a lot of pressure. We had a couple spells where we let them in the game a little bit, but I think all in all the better team won.”